TARDIS Child
by orchids117
Summary: Everything in Rose's life is falling into place. She's engaged to her Doctor, and her family is safe. But nobody ever said happily ever after was ever easy, and when their newest addition is threatened the Doctor, Rose, and Jenny will once again be forced to fight to keep their family together. (3rd in Dimensions series)
1. Chapter 1

**Thank you all so much for the feedback. I've decided to go ahead and write this, and it's coming together nicely. I should have the first chapter up soon, but here's a little preview for those of you eager to read.**

* * *

Prologue:

To our brave girl,

A daughter of the Wolf and the Storm.

Remember to always keep your eyes on the stars,

Don't ever blink, because time has a way of catching us.

In this life you will face hardships, and you will meet people who are in desperate need.

Save them, always,

Care for those who are lost,

Help those that are alone.

I promise; we are coming.

Let yourself be happy in this life we've had to stick you with. It wasn't always this way, and it won't always be.

Do not forget who you_ are. _And one day, I promise, you will understand.


	2. Chapter 2: Goodbyes

Chapter 1: Goodbyes.

"Mara what are you doing?" Jenny demanded.

I quickly shut her blue book, shoving the poem back into its pages, "Nothing."

"You know you're not supposed to read that yet," she snatched the book out of my hands.

I bit my lip, "What's that poem called?"

My sister bit her lip and gave me a hard stare, "TARDIS Child."

"Did Mum and Dad write it?" My voice was soft, Jenny never liked it when I asked questions about our parents. I think it made her sad to talk about them.

For a moment she only watched me, her eyes taking on a faraway look. She seemed to shake herself and turned to put the book back in her chest, changing the code on the lock yet again. I listened hard to try to hear the numbers she had used, and gave a subtle grin. Next time it would be too easy to crack.

My big sister came to sit in front of me on the floor. She put out her hands and I placed my smaller ones in hers. She gave a tremendous sigh and nodded, "Yes, it was written by our parents."

"Why?" I asked. I had vague memories of my parents, brief flashes of a man with wild brown hair and a woman with blond locks. Both had kind eyes, and I know without doubt that both loved me. I just can't remember _why_ they gave us up.

Jenny only smiled, having heard the direction my thoughts had taken, "I'll tell you when you're older."

* * *

Learning how to remember two separate timelines without frying your brain is absolute hell.

The first few months back in my proper universe had been the worst. Everything made my head hurt, I would look at the Doctor or Jenny or parts of the TARDIS and two separate sets of memories would start to try to fight their way to the forefront of my brain. I felt as though I was burning up inside, like the stress of having two timelines tangled up in my head was going to burn me up alive. For awhile I didn't tell the Doctor. I didn't want to worry him, and I certainly didn't want him to make me forget like he made Donna. I'd fought too long and too hard to have him torn away from me now.

I'd like to think that I was very good at hiding the truth from him. He never even looked like he suspected a thing, that is, until the morning he found me curled in a ball on the kitchen floor. I had been crying because in that moment the pain in my head was so terrible I couldn't discern just what was reality. Everything had gone shiny around the edges and seemed to blur and bleed together.

He'd wrapped me up in his arms and placed his fingers on my temples.

"No!" I scurried away from him, my eyes widening with fear, "Don't you _dare _make me forget." My speech came out slurred, making it much less forceful than I wanted it to be.

He shook his head, "I'm not going to make you forget Rose, I'm going to help you."

I let him place his fingers back on my temples. He closed his eyes and I did the same. I could feel him on the very edge of my mind, pressing gently until he broke through, "Show me where it hurts."

I closed my eyes and imagined a hallway, leading him right to the core of my pain. All around us the walls of my mind were on fire, crashing down in piles of embers. The Doctor was careful not to touch the wounded parts of my mind, following me to open the door at the very end of the corridor and enter the room I had created.

I screamed when another fiery burst of pain pounded through my head.

"Shh," the Doctor leaned forward so our foreheads touched, "What's hurting Love?"

I allowed him to push even deeper, finding the corner of my mind where the timelines were twisted and gnawing at what was left of my sanity. With a gentle finesse, the Doctor reached out and started to pull apart the memories. It was almost like he was untangling two separate pieces of string, sending the strand that held my memories of the Sycorax through another door and locking it tightly.

The moment that door had shut I felt the pain begin the ease, the fire that had been raging through my mind was starting to cool and burn out. He turned, a small key in his hand. He handed the small bit of silver to me and made his way out of my mind.

I opened my eyes when I felt his presence leave my head completely. We were still sitting on the kitchen floor, my head cradled in his lap.

He gave me my favorite grin, crinkling his eyes, "Hello."

I let out a small laugh, "Hi."

The Doctor scooped me up and hauled himself to his feet. I squealed and clung to his neck as he carried me out of the kitchen, down the TARDIS corridors to our room. I could feel exhaustion pulling on my eyelids as he tucked me into our bed, taking off my shoes and pulling the covers up to my chin.

I smiled when he leaned down and kissed my forehead, "Sleep, I'll be here when you wake up."

I slept free of nightmares.

* * *

I stood in the living room of the small flat I used to live in with my mum. We were parked in the year 2007, just shortly after the battle of Canary Wharf. I had asked the Doctor to let me pack up the flat before it was sold, before mum and I were declared officially dead.

My eyes were glued to the television, a newscaster was speaking in a monotone voice, "Rescue teams are being sent to Canary Wharf to give aid to those still trapped inside-"

"Rose?" The Doctor walked in.

I turned away from the pictures of the burning building, "Did you do that?"

He stopped, staring at the screen with a faraway look, "I may have had something to do with that yeah."

I swallowed and shut the TV off, "Good." I felt a slight flutter against the back of my mind, and placed a hand over my stomach protectively. It had been a little over a month since I had first felt the consciousness of my baby girl. Yes, baby girl, the Doctor had been so happy when we found out. It was obvious the moment her mind connected with ours. Well, ours separately. The Doctor and I still weren't married, the Human or the Galleyfrayan way. The two of us had decided to wait until after our little girl was born before 'tying ourselves together' as he put it.

I had rolled my eyes at his word choice.

The Doctor came to place one hand over my smaller one, a slight smile on his face, "I wish I could go tell him where he's going to end up."

I grinned and wrapped my arms around his neck, "He really is a lucky bloke."

He grinned and kissed me, curling his hands around my hips.

"_Guys_ I agreed to help you pack up the flat not watch you suffocate each other," Jenny whined, shoving a full cardboard box towards the pile by the door.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "Nobody said you had to watch."

I laughed and extracted myself from his grasp, "C'mon let's just get this done." I hated being in this place. It was just how we'd left it, acting as one huge reminder of everything I'd faced since then.

I tried not to think of the building that was only a couple of miles away, trying to focus on carefully packing my dad's trophies into a box. I wished with all my heart that they were here right now- Dad, Mum, Mickey- that they could see how happy I was.

I smiled to myself, imagining what mum's reaction would be to the fact that I was pregnant. She more than likely would've slapped the Doctor into his last regeneration, and then proceeded to squeal with me over the ring on my finger. She would've chattered on for _hours_ over every wedding detail, threatening the Doctor every now and then to make sure he still understood his place. Telling me that I'd better have a normal human wedding for her if anything, and that she wouldn't be cheated out of the chance to give me away, and I would've agreed.

But she wasn't here now, and she couldn't tell me those things.

I swallowed when I stopped outside of her door; it was the last room that had to be packed. Most of the other boxes had already been taken to the TARDIS. We weren't taking absolutely everything, only the important things like photos and dishes.

Slowly, I stepped inside.

It was suddenly very hard to breathe as I stood in her doorway. Everything was exactly the same, cosmetics were everywhere, her bed sheets wadded up and tossed over to the side. I smiled a little at the sight of the overflowing closet, mum was worse than me sometimes when it came to organization.

I let the door swing all the way open as I made my way over to her bed. I sat down with a slight huff and pulled one of the pillows into my lap. Tears came into my eyes when her soothing scent wafted up from the fabric.

I closed my eyes and squeezed the pillow, I would not cry. I refused to cry. Any tears I had left had been locked and stored away. I didn't need to cry, they were all alive in the other world. The Sycorax never fought them there, my family was safe.

And despite everything my head was telling me the tears came anyway.

I felt someone smooth my hair back and opened my eyes. Jenny was staring down at me with concern, "Mum?"

I sniffed and sat up, "Come here."

She let me pull her under my arm, "This place makes you sad," she whispered.

I swallowed, "Yes."

"Because it reminds you of your mum," it wasn't a question.

I nodded, "Yeah."

"So why did we come back?"

I felt a small smile tug at my lips; it was so easy to forget just how young Jenny really was. Despite the fact that she looked like a fully grown adult she was still only a child inside.

I sucked in a deep breath, "Because I needed to say goodbye."

Her lower lip jutted out as she contemplated my words, "How does packing up your old flat relate to saying goodbye?"

"Because…" I trailed off, listening to the Doctor's footsteps stop outside the door, "Because this isn't just some old flat, this is home."

Jenny cocked her head, "But I thought home was the TARDIS?"

I smiled and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, "It is, but no matter where I go this place will always be home to me. This is where all of my memories come from. This is where I spent all of my Christmases and Birthdays, this is where I broke my mum's favorite Vase when I was seven and this is the bedroom my mum used to sleep in. This is where I always came back when Dad an' I needed a break from space travel; this was the one place that was always my constant. And while my home will always be on the TARDIS, she will never replace what this home was for me."

"What's that?" She whispered.

I bit my lip and picked up the photo of my mum, the Doctor and I on her nightstand, "This is the place where I grew up."

Her brow furrowed, "But-"

"Jenny," the Doctor appeared in the doorway, "There's a couple of boxes left in your mum's old room, would you be a dear and haul them down to the TARDIS for me?"

She nodded and slid off of the bed. I stood and started going around the room, picking up anything I wanted to keep and putting it in a box labeled 'Jackie.' I stared at the name, scrawled on the box in the Doctor's handwriting.

I stopped when I felt two arms around my waist and a chin on my shoulder, "You know, Jenny and I can finish this up if you want, you can go back to the TARDIS."

I shook my head, "No, I want to finish this." I felt a soft, comforting flutter at the back of my mind, and rubbed my stomach with a soft smile.

He only kissed my cheek and got back to packing up boxes.

"You know what I'm really craving right now?" I asked, breaking the silence that seemed determined to stifle me.

The Doctor chuckled, "_Please_ tell me you're not going to force me on a pickle run."

I smiled at the memory of him running through downtown London in the middle of the night to buy me pickles the one time the TARDIS didn't have any, "No, but do you remember those chips we had in that little shop last week?"

He grinned, "You mean the green ones that _looked_ like pickles?"

I smacked his arm, "Shut up! Yes, those ones. Can we go back and get some?"

He came up behind me to rub my shoulders, "As soon as we leave."

We finished late in the night. All of the boxes were in the TARDIS, and the Doctor and Jenny were waiting for me so we could go and get those chips. My mouth was already watering at the very idea of biting into one, I just needed one last moment.

I picked up the spare key hidden under our mat and glanced into the flat one more time. It felt cold and empty without all the little treasures my mum and I had collected over the years lying around. The only things that were left being the larger sets of furniture we had no use for on the TARDIS.

I swallowed, and shut the door, locking it quickly before making my way back to the ship.

I put my key in the lock and glanced over at the sound of something scratching. Down on the street corner somebody had placed a tall angel statue on the sidewalk. I blinked, confused as to why anyone would want to put such an ugly statue on a random street corner. I gave a mental shrug, not really taking a second look at the odd decoration. And with one last, wistful look at my former home, I turned and entered the TARDIS.


	3. Chapter 3: Gifts

**I've loved hearing from all of you! The amount of reviews this story has already gotten made me grin like an idiot- thank you thank you thank you! And before I forget again, Disclaimer: I do **_**not**_** own anything even remotely Doctor Who related.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Gifts.

The first thing I was aware of was the owl hooting outside of my window. My eyes flew open; I'd been asleep for a whole five and a half hours! That was far too long, even by my standards. Usually when I overslept Jenny would come to wake me, but not today.

I grinned and hopped down from my hammock bed, pulling my worn out Teddy Bear with me, today was my seventh birthday!

I turned to my dresser, my hearts squeezing for just a moment. Every year on my birthday mum and dad had left me a gift. Just a tiny something to, as my sister would say, 'show they hadn't forgotten me.' I spent every day in anticipation wondering what they would leave, my mystery parents. They'd left me with the bear when I was only a baby, and to this day it was still my favorite gift.

The small package was waiting on my dresser as promised, a dark blue ribbon wrapped around the crinkling brown paper. I felt my smile grow over my face, my tongue poking between my teeth. Snatching the package from my dresser I ran to find Jenny. I could feel her not too far away, and it took me no time at all to find her cooking Banana pancakes in the kitchen. We only ever had Banana's in the house on my birthday, since they were my favorite fruit. Whenever I begged her to buy them on any other day she would give me a pleading look and shake her head. It confused me, the sadness I could feel coming from her when we passed by the fruits. When I asked her about it she would only sigh and pretend she hadn't heard me.

"Jenny, Jenny they came, they came!" I squealed, and hopped up onto one of the stools next to our counter.

She gave me a warm smile, "What does the card say?"

I tugged the envelope out from under the ribbon and opened it carefully, trying not to tear it even in the slightest. My sister took our breakfast off the stove, turned it off, and came over to watch me.

I smiled when I pulled out the letter, "It says…. To Mara; our big girl. Happy Birthday little Cricket! Here's a little something we picked up for you on a tiny planet called Melos Crystallum. If you close your eyes and focus, the crystal will show you the song in your hearts. Remember we love you, and we're coming for you. Love Mum and Dad," I opened the package and pulled out the clear crystal on a simple black cord.

I heard Jenny's slight gasp and looked up at her tear filled eyes. She blinked and I felt her clamp down on the strange mix of emotions that were emanating from her, "Go on," she told me, "Try it out."

I bit my lip and closed my eyes, and after taking a moment to quiet my mind I focused all of my consciousness on the small gem. I imagined channeling my essence through the tiny crystal and opened my eyes with shock when I felt it start to vibrate.

I stared at my gift with wide eyes as it started to sing. At first the melody was achingly sweet, shifting occasionally to heartbreaking, lonely notes that brought tears to my eyes.

I dared to look up at my big sister; she reached out to squeeze my hand, "Happy Birthday Mara."

* * *

I groaned when I felt light kisses trying to lure me into wakefulness. Since I'd become pregnant I'd found that I needed even more sleep than usual, something the Doctor never failed to tease me about. Most mornings he was very good about letting me get my full cycle, but there were times when he would whine about it being 'so boring' when I wasn't up.

"Go play with Jenny," I mumbled and rolled over.

He chuckled and pulled a stray hair away from my nose, "Rose, you've slept for a full twelve hours. That's a long time, even for you."

I grunted but didn't comment.

He poked my shoulder, "Rose… _Ro-ose_, c'mon, wake up. Jenny's making us Banana pancakes; she promises that you'll keep them down. Guess she found some kind of herb at that Bazaar we went to yesterday that can help you with the morning sickness… Rose?"

I rolled onto my back and opened my eyes, squinting against the light, "Pancakes, okay."

The Doctor gave me a bright smile and a quick peck on my lips, "Did I say I love you yet today?"

I rolled my eyes and sat up with a huff, "Oh don't even try."

He jutted his lip out in a pout, "You, Rose Tyler, are most definitely _not_ a nice morning person."

I gave him a sleepy smile and leaned over to kiss his pouting lip, "I'm sorry. Let's go eat pancakes."

He jumped up onto the balls of his feet, suddenly just as excited as a six year old, "Well come on then!"

I laughed and leaned down to snatch up my robe from the floor. As I did so I felt a wave of nausea, and clamped my hand over my mouth. It subsided after a moment and I let out a small breath of relief.

"Rose?" I felt a cool hand on my forehead and straightened up to find the Doctor watching me with concern, all playfulness gone from his features, "Are you alright? Do you need a bucket?"

I shook my head, "I'm fine. Pancakes."

He smiled softly and wiggled his fingers as an invitation. I wound our hands together and let him lead me into the corridor. The TARDIS flashed her lights and gave me a sympathetic chirp.

I grinned and patted the wall, "Thanks girl, I'm alright."

My key hummed as the Doctor and I entered the bright kitchen. Jenny was flipping pancakes with a very determined expression, tongue poking out of her mouth as she tossed the pan with both hands.

I laughed at the huge stack of pancakes on the counter, "I think that'll be plenty sweetheart."

She smiled at me over her shoulder and shut off the stove, "I know; they were just so much fun I didn't want to stop. Anyway, syrup's on the table if yah want it. The herb's called Wikmur, it's s'posed to settle your stomach," She stuffed one of the smaller pastries in her mouth, carrying the plate over to our tiny kitchen table.

"Oh Rose they're Banana pancakes! You can_ never_ have too many Banana pancakes!" The Doctor cried enthusiastically, pulling three onto his plate with his bare fingers.

I rolled my eyes, "Never say never ever Doctor."

The room quieted as the three of us dug in to our breakfast. I started out eating mine carefully, timidly chewing every bite just in case it decided to come back up. To my delight, however, the pancakes stayed happily in my stomach and tasted wonderful.

"So I was thinking we should probably go baby shopping today. I made a list of things we're going to need, one of them being new clothes for me once I really start showing," I was already getting a bit of a baby bump.

"Oh the TARDIS can provide us with just about everything. I know she's been working on a nursery for days," the Doctor said in between mouthfuls.

I stared at him, "She has?"

He nodded, "Yu-p."

"And you didn't tell me?"

Jenny picked up her plate, "I think I'll just go start the washing."

The Doctor gulped, "Rose, just hold on. I was going to tell you, but the TARDIS wanted to save it as a surprise."

I gave him a dark glare for a moment before rolling my eyes, "You're still missing a point Doctor."

He blinked, "What's that?"

I sighed and crossed my arms, "We're only going to have a firstborn _once_, just once. When I was younger I used to dream about the day I would get to go shopping for my first child, and while I'm sure the TARDIS has made something absolutely wonderful for us I'd rather not have that dream snatched away from me."

He stared at me for a moment before he nodded, "You're absolutely right, but please, just take a look first?"

I pursed my lips and stared him down. He was staring at me with his best puppy-dog face, eyes just the right amounts of soft and adorable.

Finally, I melted with a huff, "Okay, but we're still going shopping."

The Doctor grinned and leaped to his feet, "Molto Bene! Come with me," He grabbed my hand and hauled me to my feet.

I couldn't stifle the giggle that flew from my lips as he half dragged me down the hallway to a small door not very far from our own. It was painted a deep TARDIS blue, the handle a striking brass color.

I gave him my tongue in teeth smile, "Well go on then, open it up."

He smiled and clamped a hand over my eyes. My smile widened as I listened to him open the door and lead me inside.

The first thing I registered was the smell of Honeysuckle. I felt my brow furrow in confusion as the Doctor pulled his hand away.

I opened my eyes slowly, and my heart stopped at the sight before me.

The room was painted a soft, pastel purple. The only objects in the room were a white dresser and a matching crib. Above the crib there hung a tiny model of Earth and Galleyfray, spinning around each other. Even higher above that the ceiling was painted to resemble a night sky, the constellations slowly spinning the same directions as the planets.

"Told you it was perfect," the Doctor whispered in my ear, "And look, she left everything important out. You can still have your shopping spree," he chuckled.

I ignored him, stepping forward to look down at the small Teddy Bear lying in the crib. I bit my lip to keep the irrational tears at bay. That's another thing I really didn't like, my ridiculous hormones. I'd never been one for easy crying, and the state I was in now only frustrated me further.

I felt the Doctor wipe away my tear with his thumb, "Do you like it?"

I gave him a shaky smile and nodded, "You're right," I murmured, "It's absolutely perfect."

He smiled and took my hand, "Come on, we've got shopping to do!"

I laughed at his fake enthusiasm and let him pull me back into the console room. Jenny was already there, pulling on levers and hammering on buttons in a complicated dance. She laughed when the TARDIS' rotor groaned to life.

I sat down on the captain's chair and watched the Doctor join in, the two of them twisting and turning around the console in dances only they knew. Jenny's was a little less manic than the Doctor's, a little more graceful. He was fonder of just smacking the TARDIS a couple of times with a mallet, while she tended to flick a couple more switches and move on.

I felt the TARDIS laughing with me as they drove us through time and space to what the Doctor called, 'the best shopping mall in the universe.'

I raised an eyebrow, wondering why he hadn't taken me there before.

We landed with a little shudder and I hopped to my feet, "Nice landing!"

Jenny grinned, "That was all me."

"Oi! What do you think I was doing over here?" The Doctor cried indignantly.

Our daughter gave him a saucy grin, "Taking notes."

I laughed as the Doctor sputtered for words, taking Jenny by the arm, "Come on let's get out of here before you get yourself in real trouble."

Jenny grinned at her Dad over her shoulder, "Come on then Dad don't fall behind!"

We stepped outside of the TARDIS and into the bright and bustling mall. I gaped, looking up at the floors upon floors of shops and restaurants and arcades. All around us people of many different species were hustling about, yelling at their kids and talking over one another.

The Doctor grinned, "Rose, Jenny, I give you Henrik's of the 34th century. By now a very powerful and wealthy franchise, they have malls just like this one all over Earth along with ten other surrounding planets."

My eyes widened, "_This_ is Henrik's?"

He laughed, "Yes! Now come on, Allons-y!"

I laughed as he rushed ahead, heading straight for the closest store with maternity wear in the window.

"Mum, look at that," Jenny pointed over to a fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

I blinked; it was another one of those statues. It was almost identical to the one I had seen before, with only one difference. This one wasn't covering its face, and its blank eyes and placid smile made me shiver.

I took Jenny's hand, "Come on, let's go find your father before he gets us kicked out of this place."


	4. Chapter 4: Old Times

**Hey everyone, sorry for the late-ish update but it's nearly finals week at my school so I'm trying to focus on my studying. I'm going to try to update during the week but I can't make any promises. Thank you all so much for your continued support, I love all of your enthusiasm! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. :)**

* * *

Chapter 3: Old Times.

I glanced over my shoulder; Jenny was still sitting on the park bench. She was reading a thick book and glancing up to keep an eye on me every now and then. I know she hated this park; it always made her nervous to take me here. But yesterday was my ninth birthday, and I'd made her promise to bring me today.

I grinned and pushed myself up higher on the swings. They were always my favorites; something about the little thrill I would get from being so high in the air was addictive. I felt Jenny's amusement when I squealed after going higher than I'd intended and almost falling out of the swing.

"Be careful Mara," She called.

I slowed myself down by dragging my feet in the woodchips. As soon as I was close enough to the ground I jumped off of the swing and ran for the big tree that was just off of the playground. Technically I wasn't allowed to leave the sand area, but I could see a pile of leaves just _begging _to be jumped into. It was still within Jenny's sight, so it should be okay, right?

I leaped into the pile, grinning to myself and sending the leaves flying over the ground. I rolled in the leaves for a while, laughing when they tried to cling to my coat. I kicked and romped through them, only stopping when the pile was completely demolished.

I took a step back and admired my work, grinning and quickly scanning for another pile. There was one just on the other side of the tree. I glanced at my sister; I would be out of her line of sight, but only for a moment. She wouldn't notice if I was out of sight for just a moment would she?

I convinced myself that she wouldn't even notice and ran over to the pile.

For a moment I only circled the carefully raked leaves, trying to pinpoint the best place for entry. With a tremendous leap I finally jumped right in the center, letting myself sink up to my waist in the pile. I ran through with a squeal, getting a good distance between me and the leaves before turning around for another go.

I stopped in my tracks, eyes wide. Only a few yards from my leaves there stood a large statue. The angel had its hands covering its face, bent over as though it were mourning something.

I jumped when a strong hand found my shoulder, "Well now, what's a little thing like you doing out here ay?"

I stared up at the tall man in a funny suit with wide eyes. He grinned at me, his dark eyes crinkling, "Don't worry; I'm not going to bite you."

I swallowed, studying the man. He was tall and thin, with messy brown hair and striking sideburns. For some reason I felt as though I should know him, his kind face dragging up a memory I didn't recognize.

"My name's Mara," I said lamely, "I was just playing."

The man gave me a lopsided smile, "Well Mara, I'm sure somebody's looking for you. I bet their worried sick, why don't you let me take you back to them?"

I nodded without really thinking about it and took his offered hand, "Kay." For some strange reason I felt as if I could trust this stranger. It didn't make any sense, but his large hand covering mine gave me a strange sense of comfort. I stared at him, trying to figure out where it was in my memory that he was from.

He kept a tight hold on my hand, and glanced at the statue one more time before letting me lead him back to where Jenny was frantically running around, "Mara!" She cried and then turned to us.

I grew confused when she froze; her eyes wide with something like disbelief. Inside I felt her close off her emotions from me, and tears came to my eyes momentarily over the abrupt separation. I felt as though there was a hole in my hearts where she should be. She'd only done this very rarely, usually when she didn't want to share what was going on in her head with me. It always hurt a bit to know she had secrets from me, but I tried to understand. She was much older than me, she knew what was best.

She held out her hand, "Thank you for finding her."

The man who was still holding my hand smiled softly, the same spark of longing that was in my sister's eyes flaring up in his, "You should probably keep a better eye on her. There are lots of dangers in this park, never know when something might want to snatch up such a sweet little Cricket," he winked at me and I blushed.

Jenny's expression became anxious over something, "You're right, thank you. Mara say goodbye, we're going home now."

"But-"

"_No_, we're going home," the ice in her tone made my hearts clench, something was wrong.

I gulped and looked up at the strange man, "Bye."

He squeezed my hand and smiled, "Bye-bye Mara."

I gave him my best smile and ran back to my sister. She gripped my hand tightly and half dragged me back to our car. I stayed quiet the whole ride home, she still had not re-opened our link but I could feel the tension rolling off of her in waves. Something was very, v_ery_ wrong.

I pondered over my strange meeting with the tall man. I was still convinced I knew him, but every time I felt like I was getting close to catching the memory I was searching for it would fly away.

Frustrated, I finally closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

At 3 months pregnant I was just barely starting to show. According to all of the research the Doctor and I had conducted Human- Galleyfrayan pregnancies would last around 10 ½ months, the midway point between the two gestation periods. I had let out a little huff of frustration over that, a whole extra month and a half of strange cravings and swelling feet.

"Rose! Rose? Rose where are you? Jenny wants to go to see the 1924 Olympics! There in Paris! Rose?" He stepped into the nursery, "Rose?"

I swallowed and swiped away the tear. I had no idea what had come over me. I'd stepped into the nursery just to put away a few extra toys we'd picked up the other day from 33rd century Earth and was overcome with an unexpected wave of grief.

"Rose what's wrong?" The Doctor looked bewildered over my reaction, his eyebrows scrunching together with obvious concern.

I sniffed, "Nothing, I don't know, just… Hormones," I let out a laugh and swiped my face, "Sorry, I don't think I'm up for any adventuring today. You two go ahead and have fun, think it'll jus' be me, this kid an' the TARDIS today."

The Doctor took my hands, "You sure? Because I can stay, we can park the TARDIS close enough that Jenny can call for me if she's in trouble."

I half smiled; it was so easy to forget that the two of them were still aliens to me. Usually it was only when one of them would start to have a conversation in their heads or reference the fact that they were telepathic that I even remembered that there was any difference between us at all, "No, no go have fun. It'll be good for the two of you to have some time together."

He searched my face and kissed me, "No, I think I'm gonna stay."

I opened my mouth to protest, but he was already gone.

With a roll of my eyes I left the nursery and made my way towards the kitchen. I wanted something salty. As soon as I entered the tiny room I started to scan the shelves, grinning when the TARDIS made a bag of pretzels appear on the shelf.

I had just sat down to munch on my snack when the Doctor came bustling in.

He grinned at me playfully, "How'd I know I'd find you in here?"

I raised an eyebrow, "You callin' me fat Doctor?"

He paled, "N-no! No I was just- just…"

I laughed, "Relax, I'm only teasing. Did Jenny already leave?"

He nodded and sat down beside me, quickly snatching up a handful of pretzels and shoving the whole batch into his mouth, "Yu-p. Halfway into the stadium by now, we landed right across the street."

"You know, it's freaky when you two do that," I grinned, "The whole talking in your heads thing, it's jus' so _alien_."

"Oi!" He protested, "Don't think it's just an 'alien thing' to be telepathic. I'll have you know that in a few centuries or so the Human race has its own low levels of telepathic abilities. Now, you lot never reach quite the same amount of sophistication as a Time Lord such as me or Jenny, but still, it is quite an evolutionary achievement."

I snorted, "I'm not sure whether I should be complimented or insulted."

The Doctor abruptly jumped onto his feet, grabbing my pretzels and offering me a hand, "Come on, I think pretzels would go nicely with a movie or something."

I smiled and took his hand, "How many times are we going to watch _The Lion King_ before you get tired of it?"

"Never! You can _never_ get enough of _The Lion King_, don't ever forget that Rose," He dragged me through the halls of the TARDIS towards the small living room she liked to keep.

On our way there we happened to pass by our future daughter's room again. That strange sense of sadness hit me for a moment, forcing tears back into my eyes. The Doctor looked back at me with alarm when he heard my quiet sob. We stopped, and he wiped away my tears with his thumbs, "What's bothering yah?"

I sniffled, "I don't know, it's just… Every time I go anywhere near the nursery I feel sad for no reason."

He looked between me and the door, "How long has this been going on?"

"Just today," I let him pull me into his arms, "Doctor what is it? What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing," he gave me a soft smile, "Nothing's wrong with you. You're probably just experiencing some strange, hormonal induced mood swing 's all. C'mon, let's go pick a movie, ay? Get your mind off it."

I nodded and let him pull me into the cozy room. The couch was already made up with blankets and pillows, folded out to be a makeshift bed. I smiled and silently thanked the TARDIS for her kindness.

Until I saw the box that was sitting on the coffee table.

"Why did the TARDIS put my old home videos out?" I demanded, and slapped the Doctor's hand when he reached in to pick one up.

He grinned, "Actually, that was all me. I wanted to see what you were like; you were quite the little terror weren't you? Drove your mum up the wall from what I've seen."

I stared at him with disbelief, "You… Watched them?"

"Well…" He bit his lip, "Only one or two… Or five, I always lose track of time, ironic isn't it? Time Lord losing track of time? Technically it shouldn't be possible due to… Rose? Rose- Rose wait!"

I stopped my raised hand mid-air, "You better have a good reason to get out of a slap Doctor."

He was cowering before me, hands raised defensively, "I'm only kidding! I didn't watch any of them, but I thought you might want to. I know how much you miss your mum, and I'm sure she's on more than a few of these. Your Dad and Mickey too, by the looks of the labels."

I blinked, and relaxed, "You're lucky, I think I had enough strength to knock you into your next regeneration."

My baby girl fluttered in protest, alarmed over my levels of anger. I concentrated and tried to soothe her mind, still in the early stages of development. It was relatively simple to get her to calm back down to the slight hum at the back of my mind.

The Doctor gulped, and held up one of the videos labeled '_First Day of School_,' "Shall we? This one looks relatively safe as far as embarrassment goes."

I sighed heavily, "Fine, go ahead then." I settled myself under the blankets as he popped the video into the VHS. He kicked off his trainers and crawled in beside me, pulling me under his arm. I felt him kiss my temple and I gave in and snuggled closer as the video sparked to life.

"Rose! Rose you see that nice lady over there?" My mum pointed the camera at me. My five-year-old eyes were wide with a nervous excitement. I remember dreaming of my first day of school for months before I was allowed to go..

The younger me nodded, "Is she my teacher?"

"Yes, I want you to go introduce yourself, Kay? And be good for mummy, don't cause too much trouble," I heard my mother's huff, and smiled to myself. I wasn't _that_ bad was I?

"Okay Mummy!" I cried, and ran forward to give her a hug before sprinting on my tiny legs for the crowds of children and staff. I remembered that teacher, her name was Ms. Smith. She had been new to the school, and was probably one of the only teachers who had ever believed I was smart enough to do anything.

My mum swiveled the camera onto herself as the school bell rang, "Well Rose, it's your very first day of school. Do you remember? I thought I was gonna have ta' drag you out of bed, but instead_ you_ were the one dragging me!" She laughed at that, and I felt the Doctor squeeze my shoulder, "Anyways, I jus' wanted to make sure you never forget this day. I'm sure you'll watch this years later when you're off doing something wonderful, an' I jus' wanted you to remember where it all started," she smiled, "Love yah sweetheart, see you after school."

She started to swing the camera down, and I froze, "Wait!" I grabbed the remote and started to rewind.

"What?" The Doctor looked confused over my reaction, "Rose?"

I paused the video, only seconds before my mum had turned the camera off. In the upper left corner of the screen there was something that made my blood run cold.

But the Angel statue was gone.

I blinked, confused for a moment.

"Rose?" The Doctor touched my arm, "Did you see something?"

I opened my mouth, turning to face him, "I… No, I thought I saw something, but I guess not."

He felt my forehead, "Do you want some hot chocolate?"

I nodded, "Please?"

He smiled and kissed my forehead before padding towards the kitchen. I sat staring at the TV in frustration, rewinding and fast-forwarding the video frame by frame to try to find it again, but it just wasn't there. I knew I wasn't crazy, there _had_ been an Angel statue on this video, I knew it.

And now it was gone. How was that possible?

With a huff I tossed the remote aside and went after the Doctor.


	5. Chapter 5: Dreams and Angels

Chapter 4: Dreams and Angels.

I stared up at the snow, fascinated by the tiny flakes that were quietly beginning to cover the ground. I was bundled in my favorite blanket on a chair not too far from our house. Close enough that I could see Jenny through the lit windows. We'd just had a fight, my sister was angry because I had gone to the cinema while she was out grocery shopping. I was frustrated because I had told her where I was going, and I hadn't been alone. My one and only friend Sierra had been with me. Her mother had even been there, sitting in the back of the small theatre while Sierra and I giggled over the horrible actors onscreen.

I hadn't expected Jenny to be so upset when I got home. Her anger and fear overwhelmed me the moment I was within five feet of the house, and I kept close to the front door even after it was closed to try to distance myself from the storm raging inside of her.

She'd been sitting on the couch when I walked in, tears in her eyes and telephone in hand, "Mara!" She cried, and jumped to her feet, "Where the hell have you been? I was about to call the police!"

I blinked, surprised by her reaction, "I told you; I went to the cinema with Sierra. You were out and I was bored, I left you a voicemail before I went. We stopped for lunch afterwards and it took longer than I expected, that's all."

She crossed her arms, "I was willing to let the trip to the theatre slide, but when you didn't show up when you said you would I started to worry. You can't just go off like that without asking me first! _Especially_ without telling me if you're running late."

"Well, I'll do that next time," I said, turning to leave.

"Don't you speak to_ me_ like that young lady," Jenny cried, grabbing my arm to stop me, "What if something had happened to you? You can't just go off anywhere you want anytime you feel like it! I was worried sick!"

"Why not?" I demanded, "I _never_ go anywhere without you! You're always hovering, trying to hold my hand across the street and keeping me locked in this house! Why can't I do normal things? Sierra's decided she wants to go to a proper school this year, why can't I? What's the worst that could happen to me?"

Jenny's eyes flared, "You could get kidnapped, or killed, or-"

"Just because _you're_ afraid of the world doesn't mean I am!" I shouted and ran for the back door, grabbing a blanket off the couch as I passed.

I held my crystal between my fingers, curling in on myself to try to keep out the cold. Snow was starting to build up around me, creating tiny drifts and hills around our garden. I held my crystal between my fingers, closing my eyes against my tears. My pendant sang quietly, the aching notes echoing around the yard. I felt myself starting to drift away with its melody, and snuggled further into my blanket.

"Aren't you cold out 'ere?" A soft voice asked.

I blinked as the blonde woman sat down beside me, pulling me into her arm. It wasn't snowing anymore, but I could still feel the cold seeping through my blanket. Tears came to my eyes when she smiled at me, "Mum?"

She nodded, "Hello Love."

I sobbed and curled into her, "I'm dreaming aren't I?"

My mum kissed my forehead, "'M 'fraid so. An' I'm sorry, but I can't stay very long. I shouldn't even be here in the first place, but I heard you crying out for me."

I blinked, "How?"

She tapped my forehead affectionately, "Telepathy Love, jus' because your Father and I had to dampen your connection to us doesn't mean I can't still hear you," she sighed, "However, me being 'ere is gonna send up a _huge_ signal. It'll be like advertising to every creature within a five and a half mile radius that you're here."

I sat back to take another look at her. My mother was beautiful, her blonde hair was long and wavy, her eyes a gentle hazel. As I stared at her I felt all those memories I had been chasing after rushing back. I remembered her cradling me, crooning a lullaby as she rocked me to sleep. The song was so sweet it brought a wave of fresh tears to my eyes.

"Why did you give us up?" I whispered, "Jenny and I, why did you an' Dad send us away?"

Mum sighed heavily and her whole being seemed to slump against grief, "We had to. There were… People, who wanted to hurt you. We had to keep you safe, so we hid you both away. It was one of the hardest things we've ever done," she whispered.

"I miss you," My voice cracked and I cleared my throat.

She blinked back her own tears, tucking my hair back from my face, "Oh sweetheart, we miss you too, every single moment of every day."

I swallowed and looked down at my hands, twiddling my thumbs together, "Will I ever see you again?" I hated how broken and lost my voice sounded, and bit my lip as hard as I could.

Mum pursed her lips and rubbed my arm, "Soon, I hope. We're coming for you, we jus' need to take care of a few things first."

I nodded and kept my eyes on my thumbs.

Mum pulled my chin back up with her hand, "What's wrong? You called me into your dream because you're upset, what happened?"

I sniffed and wiped away my tears, "I had a fight with Jenny."

"About?"

I swallowed, "She keeps me so guarded. I never get to go anywhere or do anything. I went to the cinema with my friend today, told Jenny where and when I was going an' everything, and she got angry with me. Said I couldn't just go anywhere I wanted to. I don't understand it mum, why can't I have a normal life? She won't even let me go to a real school like everyone else."

She sighed, "I can't tell you yet. All I can say is that your sister really does have you in mind. She loves you; go easy on 'er. This is hard for her too, maybe even more so. Jenny remembers your Dad an' I better than you do, she misses us. Maybe even more than you."

I stared down at my hands, "I never thought of that…"

"Mara?" I looked up when I heard a faint voice calling my name, "Mara I'm sorry; please come back inside, you'll freeze."

My mum smiled and stood, "That's my cue. I'll see you again soon, until then please be nice to your sister."

"Wait," I reached for her hand, "Will I remember this? Will I remember you?"

She smiled at me sadly and kissed my cheek, "No."

I blinked awake when I felt someone shaking me, "Mara you need to come back inside before you freeze to death."

I looked up at Jenny and nodded, "Yeah, yeah okay." I stood and started to follow her back inside, turning one more time to look back. I had the strangest feeling that I had lost something. I brushed my fingers against my crystal just to make sure it was still there, shrugged, and went back inside the house.

* * *

I was starting to think that I was slowly losing my mind.

The more I thought about the Angel statues, the more I obsessed over them. I found myself constantly looking over my shoulder when we all went out. I searched for them on every corner, in every garden, everywhere and anywhere that we went. I even went through all of my home videos to try to find it again, twice.

"Rose?" The Doctor knocked on the door to the living room, staring at the screen, "What are you up to?"

I quickly shut off the video of me singing 'the Itsy-Bitsy Spider' for my 3rd year school talent show, "Nothing, sorry, did you need something?"

He gave me a worried look, coming to sit beside me and take my hand, "You realize you're freezing? Goodness Rose, how long have you been in here without a heater on?" He glared up at the TARDIS until a puff of warm air started up from one of the vents.

"I'm fine," I rolled my eyes, but let him pull up a blanket and crawl in beside me.

"No you're not, you're cold. Lemme help," he pulled me up under his arm, and despite my protests I curled into his side. Usually he was a few degrees cooler than me, but at this moment he felt like an oven.

I shivered and snuggled closer, "Stupid Time Lord Physiology, is it even _possible_ for you to be cold?"

The Doctor chuckled and rubbed my arm when I shivered, "That's an interesting question, considering the fact that-"

"Doctor," I groaned, "I don't want the lecture, it was rhetorical."

"Oh," he pouted, "Right. Anyway, what were you doing before I barged in?"

I sighed, "It's silly."

He grinned, "Try me."

I bit my lip, "Well, that day we watched the video of me going off to school for the first time I… I thought I saw something, a statue. But when I rewound the tape there wasn't anything there."

The Doctor gave me a concerned look, "Maybe you were jus' tired, ay? Your body is under a lot of stress," he rubbed my stomach with a small smile.

I felt a small flutter at the back of my mind, and shook my head, "I don't think so. The thing is, I've seen it before. The first time was at my mum's flat, someone had put a strange Angel Statue on a street corner. The other time was when we went baby shopping, there was one in the mall, but it was… Different."

The Doctor was frozen stiff beside me, "Different how exactly?"

I gave him a curious look, he sounded as though someone was choking him, "Well… The first time I saw it, it almost looked as if it was crying; its hands were over its face… But the other times it was smiling at me, but in a creepy way. I don't like them Doctor. Doctor?"

He was completely cold beside me, his eyes staring straight ahead, "Have you only seen them three times?"

I nodded slowly, "Why? What are they?"

The Doctor turned and held my face in his hands tightly, "Listen to me very carefully. I do _not_ want you to leave this TARDIS from now on. At least until after the baby's born. You're lucky to have escaped alive."

I blinked, "Why? What are they?"

"Probably one of the most deadly creatures in the universe, they're called Weeping Angels. And- and Jenny's out there right now!" The Doctor leapt to his feet and ran from the room.

"Doctor?" I cried, hauling myself to my feet as quickly as I could and following him, "Doctor! What are they? Why are they so dangerous?"

I followed him out of the TARDIS into the gardens of the palace of Versailles, in 1682 of course.

"Doctor?" I was halfway out the doors when the Doctor lunged back to shove us both inside, "Oi! You better start giving me some answers! What's going on?"

His face was ashy pale, his eyes dark with fear, "They've found us."


	6. Chapter 6: Nightmares

**Hey all, just wanted to give thanks to everyone who's been reading this story. Also, if you haven't read the other two in this series I strongly recommend that you do. Anyways, thank you all and please, please enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Nightmares.

Sometimes I had terrible nightmares.

Jenny and I had reconciled after she came out to keep me from freezing to death.

She had wrapped me up in a warmer blanket and handed me a cup of tea. I curled my fingers around the hot mug, shivering violently as she sat across from me. She stared down at her hands for a moment, "I'm sorry for the way I acted today. It was wrong of me to yell at you like that, but I was just so scared," she sniffed, "Mum and Dad charged me with keeping you safe, so I can't help but go a little mad when you disappear like today. Nevertheless, it was wrong of me to take out that worry on you the way I did, an' I'm sorry."

I smiled softly and went to snuggle into her side, "'S alright, I should've called you."

Jenny grinned, "Yeah, you should've. Remember that next time, yeah?"

My stomach flipped, "Next time?"

She smiled, "Well I can't keep you locked in this house forever can I?"

"Does this mean I can go to school?"

She bit her lip nervously and I felt her stab of panic, "Let's take baby steps 'ere, alright? Maybe in a year or two I'll register you for school."

I couldn't hold back my ecstatic grin, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I threw my arm around her, nearly spilling my tea in the process.

She laughed, "C'mon, off to bed with yah."

I kissed her cheek and hopped up, leaving the mug on the counter. I half ran half skipped off to my room and quickly made myself ready for bed. Shivering against the cold air I snuggled down in my covers and closed my eyes.

That was when the nightmare came.

It was very dark wherever I was, too dark for me to see anything. I could feel my family's fear overwhelming me, something was chasing after us, but what?

"Mum? Dad! Jenny, anyone?" I would try to call, but nothing would ever come out. I turned and ran through the never-ending darkness. Hoping, praying I would find a way out.

I screamed when I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to find Jenny. She held a finger to her lips and yanked me through a dark blue door. I cried out as I fell after her, landing on a hardwood floor with a grunt. I took a moment to catch my breath before looking up.

"Jenny, where are we?" I breathed, the room was small. The walls were a soft yellow, and the room appeared to be a nursery, but for who?

Jenny glanced up from the crib, "Shh, you'll wake her."

I blinked, and stood to see who she was talking about. I gasped; the baby was small but exquisite. She had a dark wisp of hair and perfectly formed features. She cuddled my teddy bear, cooing to it in her sleep.

I reached out to touch the small child, but Jenny slapped my hand away, "No!" She hissed just as the baby opened her eyes.

I stumbled back when they flashed gold before fading to my hazel brown, "Who is she?"

"Shh," Jenny cooed when the little girl started to cry, "Shh, it's alright Mara. She's not gonna hurt you," She picked up the baby and cradled her to her chest.

"Jenny?" I turned when I heard the door creak open, on the other side there was a horrific creature. A tall Angel statue, like the one I had seen in the park when I was younger but different. This one reached out with long talons, mouth wide open to expose sharp fangs.

"No! You'll never take her!" Jenny shouted defiantly, backing towards the window.

"Jenny! Jenny run!" I heard a distant voice call, "Just run!"

I screamed and jolted awake as my sister disappeared with a flash.

* * *

I clung to the railing as something jolted the TARDIS again, "Doctor, what are they?! How are we going to save Jenny?"

He growled with frustration as he pounded on the controls of his ship, "Jenny's fine, she's got her vortex manipulator. She'll be 'ere in three… Two…"

I screamed when someone grabbed my arm, "Miss me?" Jenny grinned.

"Never mind that, both of you help me fly her!" The Doctor commanded, twisted a knob with much more force than was necessary.

I hauled myself to my feet and went to the controls he directed me to. The TARDIS moaned and groaned louder than usual, and I could feel the struggle she was going through trying to get us as far away as possible.

I cried out when parts of her started to blow up, getting thrown to the grating when one explosion came too close. I moaned when I felt something hot welling up around the back of my head. My baby girl was in a panic, her mind thrashing against my own.

"No," I coughed, trying to calm her down. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to protect her, and I curled in on myself to try to shield her from the blasts.

"Rose!" The Doctor cried as the TARDIS started to shake, "Jenny hang on to something!" He dropped to my side and pulled me out of the way of another explosion. I was dimly aware of what was going on, but was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on anything, "Rose stay with me! Look at me, that's it, hello," the Doctor gave me a desperate smile as I tried to focus on his face.

"Dad, we're crashing!" Jenny screamed.

"Hang _on_!" The Doctor shouted, grabbing me and the console as I felt us tipping.

"Doctor," I croaked, "Doctor I think I'm…"

"Rose!" He cried.

And then it all went dark.

* * *

Amelia Pond had spent a good ten years of her life waiting on her Doctor and the Tyler's. They would show up every so often, bustling about like a windstorm with stories of their latest adventures. Sometimes they would take Rory and her out for an adventure, but more often than not now they were content for a little social visit before rushing on their way. And as much as she did miss the adventure sometimes, Amy was happy with this arrangement. She and Rory had a real life now, one that they both seemed to enjoy.

So when a beat up looking TARDIS appeared in her backyard, Amy immediately ran outside. Rory was at work, but she'd call him later if they stuck around long enough.

She grinned as the door opened, but her smile quickly faded when smoke billowed out. Jenny was the first to stumble out onto the grass, choking on the air. Burns covering her arms and one along her cheek. Behind her was the Doctor carrying a very injured looking Rose, at least, Amy assumed it was the Doctor. She'd never met the man who was in front of her now, with wild lion's hair and dark brown eyes. Where was her Doctor?

_Time Machine_, she reminded herself and ran to help Jenny, "Are you alright?"

Jenny's eyes widened, "Um, um yes. Who are you? Never mind that, please don't call the police, we're not gonna hurt you."

She smiled, "I know," she glanced up and saw that Rose was pregnant, and suddenly it all made sense, "Oh! I know this part," she exclaimed and ran back for the door, "Bring 'er in here Doctor!"

He didn't hesitate, and quickly rushed Rose inside and laid her out on the dining room table. Her wrist was twisted at an awkward angle, burns just like the ones the Doctor and Jenny had covering her arms and legs, "She needs medical help, immediately. Do you have a first aid kit? And how do you know me?" His tone was harsh, and she shrank back against the stormy spark in his eyes.

Amy swallowed, panicking over her mistake, "Um, spoilers. Anyway, I can do you one better. First aid's in the bathroom on the left," she directed Jenny before tossing the Doctor a towel and grabbing the phone, "My husband's a nurse, he'll be able to help her."

"No!" The Doctor tried to snatch the phone away, "No, she can't go to a hospital."

Amy rolled her eyes, "Obviously, he knows about this. He can help her without a hospital trip."

The Doctor scrutinized her as Jenny handed him the kit, "Who are you?"

She didn't answer, turning to her task instead, "Pick up, pick up, pick up… Rory! You need to come home right away, they're _here_ and Rose is hurt. She needs you, now."

"Okay, okay, slow down I'm on my way. What's wrong with her?" Rory asked with an annoyingly calm voice.

"She's pregnant and she's bleeding from the head, a lot," Amy watched the Doctor trying frantically to stop the blood that was still coming out of Rose. She was already far too pale for Amy's liking, "Hurry up!"

Rory hung up the phone and Amy threw it aside, running to the Doctor to try to help him, "What can I do?"

"Hold this while I use the sonic to staunch the bleeding," The Doctor handed her the blood soaked towel and she pressed it to Rose's wound firmly.

"C'mon Rory," she growled, "Hurry up."

* * *

The first thing I was aware of was just how thirsty I was. It felt as though my tongue was a useless lump of sandpaper stuck in my throat. I swallowed loudly and groaned when a stinging pain registered. My baby girl was urging me to open my eyes, her small consciousness pushing against mine frantically.

I soothed her with a soft stroke of my mind and opened my eyes, "Doctor?"

I felt a hand take my own and turned my head to find him right beside me, "I'm right 'ere Love."

"What happened? Where are we?" I croaked.

"We're with some old friends," He murmured, "One of them tended to you after you got caught in one of the explosions, do you remember?"

My eyes widened when the memory of heat and fire came back and I immediately threw a hand to my stomach, "Is- is she?"

The Doctor rubbed where I had my hand, "She's fine. As for you, Rory treated your injuries fairly well. I helped with the sonic where I could, but you're still gonna be sore for a while."

I felt the sharp pain of my wrist and found it bandaged, "Thank you," I glanced up and saw a wedding photo of a striking woman with red hair and a grinning man with kind eyes, "Who are they?"

He shrugged, "No idea."

I blinked, "How can they be old friends then?"

The Doctor smiled at me fondly, "Time Travel."

"Oh," I dragged out the small syllable, "_Right_."

His smile faded, his expression turning somber as he kissed my forehead, "Don't scare me like that," he muttered, "You were bleeding so much… I thought…"

I reached up and took his hand, "You can't get rid of me that easily Doctor, you're stuck with me remember?"

The Doctor had tears in his eyes and hid his face in my neck. I held onto his quivering form, ignoring the ache in my shoulder as I wrapped him up in my arms. Behind him I saw Jenny enter the small bedroom we were in, and then back out slowly.

I gave her a thankful smile and kissed the Doctor's cheek, "Shh, it's okay Doctor, we're safe."

He sniffed and nodded, sitting back up and swiping at his eyes.

I tousled his hair affectionately, "So, what are we going to do now?"

"Well, the TARDIS needs some time to repair herself. As soon as she's ready we need to find a place to disappear, they have her scent now, and they'll follow us to the edge of the universe if we keep using her."

"So what do we do?" I whispered.

He sighed, "We'll take her someplace they won't find her, and then we'll find a safe house to hole up in for a while. I know of one you might actually like."

I narrowed my eyes, "You want to run and hide? Doctor, they're only going to keep coming. We should figure out what they want and stop them."

He nodded and smoothed back my hair, "I know Rose, and we will. But I want you and our child safe while Jenny and I figure this all out."

I sighed, I couldn't argue with that, "Okay."

The Doctor grinned, "Ready to go domestic Rose Tyler?"

I laughed at his mock enthusiasm, "Ready if you are, Doctor."

He smiled and gave me a soft kiss, "Who knows? Might not be so bad after all."


	7. Chapter 7: Trouble

**Merry Christmas everybody! Hope you all enjoy the holiday, and this next chapter! Thank you :)**

* * *

Chapter 6: Trouble.

Jenny finally enrolled me in school shortly after my eleventh birthday.

At first I had been excited, I was going to finally get to go to a proper school with other children. Sierra had told me all about her friends and I was eager to meet them. Jenny could barely get me to go to sleep the night beforehand, and in the end I only got a couple of hours or so. That was a short amount of time, even by my standards. However, despite the fact that I was a bit sluggish I leapt out of bed the moment my alarm went off.

I smiled on our way to the school, chattering about nothing and everything the whole time my sister was driving me there.

When we finally did pull up to the tall brick building I saw Sierra waiting for me on the front steps. I smiled and waved to her, grabbing my book bag and turning to leave.

Jenny stopped me, "Mara, I want you to be careful today. I know it's just a school, an' I'm probably being paranoid, but if you see anything out of the ordinary you call me, deal?"

I nodded and tapped my temple, "Deal."

She grinned and kissed my cheek, "Off you go then, have fun."

"Hi Sierra," I grinned.

She smiled and grabbed my wrist, "C'mon we still 'ave a little time, an' I want you to meet everyone."

I let her drag me over to where three other kids were standing. One was a girl with perfectly straight blonde hair and stunning green eyes, one was a boy with pale skin and freckles and the last was a shy looking girl with dark hair that seemed to want to try to eat her face.

Sierra grinned, "Guys, this is Mara. Mara, this is Rita, Nathan and Evelyn. She's new, and she's my friend so we have to make her feel welcome."

The boy Nathan stuck his hand out for me, "Well hello there."

I smiled and took his hand, "Hello."

It was all going very well until I got to the actual class part. Apparently, Mr. Bartels did _not_ appreciate my vast understanding of Magnesium and its fiery capabilities. Needless to say, the school had an unexpected fire drill and would be undergoing reconstruction within the next year or so.

Jenny sat staring at me from across the dining room table, "I sent you to school for _one day_, just one day. Don't you think you could keep yourself out of trouble when I'm not there for _one day_?"

I pursed my lips, "It's not as if I _tried _to light the table on fire."

"Sarah's mother was furious with me because your little fire got caught in her daughter's hair. She threatened to take me into court over it. And the school! We're lucky they didn't decide to send us the bill, or press charges!" My sister cried and let her face fall into her hands, "That's it. No more school, not until you're old enough to pay your own bills."

"But-" I started.

Jenny gave me a dark glare and I shrank back, "But what?"

I gulped, "Nothing…"

She stood, "That's what I thought. Go to bed."

I did everything I was told for the next few months.

* * *

I actually liked the safe house the Doctor had picked out for us. It was a cottage backed up against tall cliffs that led down to a small beach by a very questionable staircase. Because he didn't want the TARDIS too close to us he parked her far away in the woods near the tops of the cliffs, placing her under a cloak before helping me down to the beach.

Our new little house had two tiny bedrooms and a nursery, one bathroom, and a kitchen. In front there was a tiny fenced in garden and only a few yards away there was a rusty old swing set and slide. It seemed perfect, so secluded it would take a miracle to find us.

Our first month there the Doctor "bought" a car. He said bought, I said used psychic paper and a lot of sweet talk to coerce the car out of the dealership for free.

"We're out of milk!" I called out before remembering that both the Doctor and Jenny were going to be in the TARDIS for the day. They were trying to figure out what it was the Angels wanted from us, building an elaborate trap that would allow us to talk to one without being zapped.

I huffed and scribbled down a note before grabbing the car keys, "Alright Love, you an' I are going out to the market for just a bit." I knew the Doctor wouldn't like me leaving, but I wouldn't be gone long and the town wasn't _too_ far away.

The drive into town was relatively uneventful. We were near some little village with only two stop lights, a post office and a tiny market. I parked the car in the dirt parking lot that was really just mud and puddles and yanked my coat tighter around me. A little bell chimed when I entered the warm market, and I tried unsuccessfully to thaw out my hands before grabbing a basket.

I rolled my eyes when I felt my phone buzz, "I'm fine Doctor."

"Oh, this isn't the Doctor darling. Now, I want you to look up to the window on your left, slowly," the voice was female, and raspy.

I felt my heart stop for a moment before bringing my eyes up to the window. Outside there were two large men waiting near my car. I could see the pistols tucked into their jackets, even from this distance, and turned around to run.

"Nah, ah, not so fast," the voice growled.

I stopped in my tracks. Towards the back of the market there was one other man. Normally I knew I would've been able to fight my way out and make a decent run for it, but at 5 months pregnant I doubted I was going to get anywhere really fast even if I was able to slip away.

I ground my teeth together, "Who is this?"

"All in good time dear, for now I want you to walk out of the market- slowly- and hand the nice men your keys. Get in the car without a fight, see you in a moment."

I heard the line go dead and stuffed the phone in my jacket. I felt my fingertips brush the cold metal of the gun I was carrying, for once silently thanking my Torchwood instincts. I felt my baby girl dancing about nervously, and quietly soothed her while marching back out into the cold parking lot.

I jingled the keys over the soldier's hand, "Now I don't want a single _scratch_ on 'er you hear?"

He rolled his eyes and snatched the keys out of my hands.

The second he turned away to open the back door I whipped out my weapon and shot him in the shoulder. I heard someone screaming in the market and shot at the other soldier before ducking behind the car. The man who had been in the market was firing back at me. I ducked when the windshield shattered and shot again. He went down and I threw myself around, dropping my firearm and yanking open the driver's side, turning the keys sharply. I heard a police siren in the distance as the engine fired up and I spun the wheel as hard as I could. The car went flying over the curb and the tires squealed as I stamped on the gas.

I felt my phone buzz again and glanced at the blocked number before answering, "Who the hell are you people?"

Somebody laughed and I felt a shiver run up my spine when something cold touched my temple, "I suggest you pull the car over."

I swallowed, hearing the voice on my phone coming from behind me. I glanced in my rearview mirror, and cursed. One was another soldier; the other was a woman with dark hair and an eye patch.

I did as I was told, holding my hands up when the engine died.

The woman opened her side while the man opened his, "Get in the back."

I moved slowly, keeping my hands up while I traded places with the man. He tucked his gun away as soon as I was settled in the backseat and handcuffed me.

"You're going to regret this," I hissed, "The Doctor _will_ find me, and when he does you'll be sorry."

The woman gave me a thin-lipped smile, "Oh, we're counting on that."

I blinked with the confusion her smirk gave me, and felt something cold smack the back of my head before the world turned black.

* * *

"Alright Dad try 'er again!" I cried out through the grating.

I heard the groan of the TARDIS start up, and Dad's excited laugh before something sparked and he cursed loudly.

I huffed and hauled myself out from under the grating, "What now?"

"The capacitor blew out," He groaned, "I don't think I _have_ another one- dammit! We can't go buy one or they'll find us. I can build one, but that'll take _weeks_."

I sighed and collapsed into the captain's chair, "Ugh!"

Dad slammed his hands down on the console, causing the TARDIS and I to jolt with surprise. He was breathing hard, his shoulders tense with rage.

I gulped, "Dad?"

I was relieved when his phone rang. He glanced at the number and popped it open, "Rose? I saw your note, we're-" He cut off, "**What**?!"

I jumped again at his outburst and leapt to my feet when he started half-running half-walking out of the doors, "Dad? What's wrong?"

"Listen Rose, I'm on my way. Jus'- Jus' calm down and I'll be right there," Dad hung up his phone and sprinted for one of the bikes we kept tethered at the cliff tops, "Mum's been in a car accident!"

My eyes widened and I ran after him even faster.

I hung up my phone and groaned. I had cuts all over my face and arms from the glass in the broken windshield. The last hour or so were all a fog; I barely remembered the other car heading right for me, losing control on the slick pavement. I could kind of recall rolling off the road and hearing the crunching and shattering of my car, of brakes squealing and the other driver rushing off before he could be caught.

"Ma'am can you hear me? Are you alright?" I heard someone calling for me, and turned my head, wincing at the slight twinge. It was a police officer, a worried expression on his face.

I nodded, "Yeah, I called my- my boyfriend. He's on his way," my answers were robotic. I had no idea why I called the Doctor first, I should've called the police or maybe an ambulance, but my first instinct was to call him.

The policeman nodded, "Okay, we're gonna get you out, okay miss? Just stay calm."

I nodded and let my eyes drift closed again. I was tired and aching all over, but I could feel that my precious girl was alright, and that was all that mattered to me at the moment.

A few moments later I heard the tinkling of glass as the car was lifted enough so the rescue team could open the side door and pull me out. I winced when one man's grip tweaked my shoulder, and cried out when my foot snagged on the chair. They stopped for a moment, shouting at each other and heaving me out with one mighty pull.

I sucked in the cold air and saw the crowd that was beginning to form. I was just outside the village, and already several of its inhabitants had heard of and driven out to the accident scene.

"Rose!" I heard a familiar voice call, and searched the crowd desperately for him, "Let me through, I'm a Doctor! Rose Love."

I reached out with tears in my eyes as he skidded down beside me, taking my hand and feeling my forehead, "Are you alright? What happened?" He turned the police officer as an ambulance arrived on scene.

"Hit and run sir, 'm afraid the car's been totaled," He answered.

"Doctor," I whimpered and squeezed his hand, "Where's Jenny?"

"Right over there," He nodded over to where another officer was holding Jenny back firmly.

I winced when several men rushed over from the ambulance and began to poke and prod me, "Looks like she's got a broken ankle and a fractured arm, we should do some scans to make sure the baby wasn't effected," I squinted when he shone a light in both my eyes, "Okay, load her up."

"No!" I protested, "No hospitals!"

"Shh, Rose it's okay," the Doctor stopped me from struggling, "I'll stay right with you, I'll take care of it."

I saw the dark determination in his eyes and nodded, allowing the men to load me into the ambulance. The Doctor held my hand the whole way, and I was assured that Jenny was being given a ride in one of the police cars.

I looked up at the Doctor, tears in my eyes due to the amount of pain I was just starting to register, "Don't you _dare_ leave me."

He shook his head and kissed my forehead, "I won't, I promise. I'm not going anywhere."

As they were pulling me into the hospital on my stretcher I happened to catch a glimpse of someone standing across the street. I couldn't see much, the painkillers the Doctor had allowed them to give me were making my vision a bit fuzzy, but I could tell she was staring at me. I could just barely make out a slight frame, with wild dark hair framing a pale face.

I blinked, and she was gone.


	8. Chapter 8: Forget

Chapter 7: Forget.

A few months after my little incident with the school I started sneaking out. Sierra and her friends would all do it too; we all lived close to each other. We'd meet in an old abandoned house only a block or two away from where I lived.

I waited until Jenny was asleep before sliding open my window and hopping down into the garden. I ran for the back gate, glancing over my shoulder before slipping out onto the street. I jogged down the wet sidewalks, glancing over my shoulder now and then until I found the house. I grinned at the adrenaline pumping through me and shimmied under the iron-gate, running up the steps to the door.

I could hear the rest of them giggling inside.

"Mara!" Sierra grinned, "We didn't think you'd make it."

I rolled my eyes, "Course I would, here," I pulled out the spray paint I'd stolen from the hardware store Jenny had taken me to a few days back.

The other kids started grinning to themselves over what we planned to do. Even shy Evelyn, who was known at school as the ultimate Goody-Two-Shoes.

Sierra had shared with me that her and the others had a club- called the Misfits. We were all the people who got in trouble, the ones everyone picked on and overlooked. When I'd wound up burning part of the school down on my very first day the Misfits decided I would be a wonderful addition to their group, even though I no longer went to their school.

"Nathan you're the artist, you do it," Sierra took the paint from me and handed it to Nathan.

He smirked, "Alright, Rita show me that design again?"

Rita pulled out a folded up and slightly damp piece of paper from her coat pocket and handed it to Nathan, "I was thinking it would look best on that wall," she pointed to the large wall behind us.

Sierra nodded, "You're right, that'll be perfect."

We all giggled to ourselves as Nathan painted the large circle first. He painted two diamonds with round ends facing the middle on the left and right side of the circle. Next he painted an upside down cursive _l _so that the tail stopped at a point by the corner of one diamond and extended all the way to the other. After doing the same for the diamond on the other side he painted a line under both _l_'s that ended in a slight swirl.

"There!" He cried, "My work is done."

We all clapped, "Oh marvelous Nathan, just fantastic," I laughed when he bowed.

"Thank you, thank you, I'll be here for the next hour or so," He said and sat back down.

Rita turned to me, "It really is perfect, where did you come up with it Mara?"

I shrugged, "In a dream? I dunno."

"Well, wherever you got it from it'll now be the official Misfits' seal," Sierra pulled out a paper bag from underneath a loose board and pulled out four 7Up cans. I took mine and held it up with the rest of them, "A toast," Sierra proposed, "To the Misfits!"

"Cheers," Nathan said as we snapped our drinks open and sipped. I'd never had any kind of soda before; Jenny had always said I was hyperactive enough without added caffeine, so that first sip was full of curiosity.

I smiled as the bubbles tickled my tongue, it was delicious.

"Did any of you hear that?" Evelyn whispered, staring at the garden outside of the wide doors to our left.

I swallowed down my drink, "What?"

She shook her head, "Nothing."

Rita laughed harshly, "Aw poor Evelyn, are you afraid of getting caught? Lil' miss Goody afraid of tarnishing her reputation?"

She blushed but didn't answer, only stared down at her drink.

"Oi," Sierra barked, "Rita we don't bully our own, take your punishment."

Rita only rolled her eyes and stood with a huff, "_Fine_," She went for the front door.

I watched with curiosity as she opened it and kept walking for the street. The rest of us scrambled to our feet to watch from the window, the others eagerly pressed their faces to the glass as Rita shimmied under the gate.

"What does she 'ave to do?" I asked.

Evelyn giggled, "She has to go ding-dong-ditch Mrs. Pemberly."

My eyes widened, Mrs. Pemberly was well known as being one of the oldest and crabbiest ladies on the block. Kids would only ever mess with her on a dare, other than that we all kept clear of her precious Petunias and her fat cat that liked to sneak up and scratch out legs.

Rita glanced both ways down the street before ringing Mrs. Pemberly's door and sprinting back for our house.

We all laughed as the crabby old woman came to the door, "It's two in the bloody morning you Bastards! Whoever that was better not come back or I'll call the police! You filthy little kids! I know it was one of you! Don't you know better than to ring on people's doorbells at this time of night? I'll find out who this was, and when I do you'll be sorry!"

We all collapsed into fits of laughter as she slammed her door and Rita threw herself back inside.

They were all still laughing when I heard a soft scratching from the top of the stairs. I glanced up, there stood a statue. The same statue I had seen in the park when I was nine.

I felt my blood turn to ice at the sight of it, "Hey guys, we should probably get out of here. I wouldn't put it past her to actually call the police."

Sierra rolled her eyes, "Fine, let's go."

I glanced back at the house one more time as we slipped through the gate, and I would swear I saw three of those Angels watching us from the windows.

* * *

I heard the sound of the sonic buzzing next to my TARDIS key as the ambulance team hurried me to the emergency room.

"Perception filter," He murmured after they'd laid me out on an examination table, "It'll keep them from seeing anything un-Human like."

I smiled at him weakly and gave his hand a squeeze, "Thank you."

After setting my broken bones, checking me for concussion, and tending to my abrasions the nurses wheeled me in to a small office with an ultra sound machine. I looked to the Doctor with panic, but he only gave me a reassuring smile and squeezed my hand.

"Alright miss, someone will be with you in just a moment," the nurse smiled at me and hurried out of the small room.

The Doctor immediately leaned down to stroke my cheek, "Just relax Rose; I set the perception filter so it'll look like she's only got one heart. It'll be fine, I promise."

I nodded, trying to clamp down on the panic that was creeping its way up into my throat, "Okay."

He bit his lip and pulled over a stool so he could sit beside me, "You scared me again today."

I barked a laugh, "I didn't try to I swear."

He gave me a half-grin, "You would think you'd be a little less jeopardy friendly when you're pregnant, but oh no! Rose Tyler will _always_ find a way to get herself in trouble no matter what."

I smiled, "We're gonna have our hands full if our daughter's anything like us."

He laughed, but then grew somber. I felt my heart flutter when he took my hand, "Rose… I don't think we should wait… I know you have your heart set on a human wedding first in honor of your mum, but… Do you think, possibly, we could change that plan? It's just, well… When- when Time Lords marry we… We don't have a _wedding_ per say, we call it a _Bonding_ ceremony, where the two partners become mates for life by being linked telepathically. Because you're human your telepathic skills are mostly undeveloped, but I can try to help teach you. Also, if we were bonded I would be able to keep you safer, so days like today won't happen as often."

I was hardly able to breathe as we stared at each other, "Doctor I don't know if…"

The Doctor smiled and kissed my cheek, "It's okay. I won't push you; we can talk about it again later when we've all calmed down."

Relief washed over me and I pulled him in for a kiss, "Thank you."

We were interrupted when another woman with a ginormous flower on her scrubs walked in, "Hello there, my name's nurse Patty and I'll be running your ultra sound today."

I swallowed as the Doctor backed away from me just a bit, "Nice to meet you Patty, my name's John and this is my… Partner, Rose."

Patty gave me a too-bright smile, "Well Rose, I hear you had a fright today, shall we take a look to make sure everyone's alright?"

My eyebrows quirked at her patronizing tone and her use of the word 'fright,' "Yeah, sure," _I _already knew everything was fine, but I doubted they'd let me leave this place without checking first.

I hoped the nurse would pass off the tension the Doctor and I were clearly exuding as worry over our child's safety. I felt the Doctor rub the back of my hand with his thumb when she slathered the freezing cold gel across my stomach and started up the machine.

"Alright," Nurse Patty chirped, "Let's take a look."

I heard the Doctor wince when I started to crush his hand. I immediately released him and he flexed his fingers, giving me a pointed look when the joints popped.

I bit my lip, but kept my eyes on the screen the nurse had pulled over.

"And we have… Hold on, I can't seem to find it…" My heart stopped as the nurse's face grew troubled, "Wait, wait there it is! A heart beat!" She gave us that annoying smile again, "It looks as though your lil' girl is doing just fine."

I smiled widely and let out a huge breath of relief, all tension relaxing in my shoulders, "That's wonderful to hear."

"Mum!" Jenny burst through the door, sprinting right to my side, "I'm so sorry, they wouldn't let me in. Are you alright? What happened, nobody would tell me anything and I was just getting so worried and- hey!" She struggled against the two nurses who had grabbed her arms.

"No, she's alright let her go," I smiled and took Jenny's hand, "I'm alright. Some idiot tried to ram into me, but I'm fine I promise, an' so is the small one."

Jenny glanced up at the screen and smiled at the sight, "Is that her?" She pointed to a small shape towards the center of the fuzzy image.

Nurse Patty gave another cheesy smile, "You're big sister I assume?"

The Doctor chuckled when she nodded, mouth open and eyes wide, "She's so small."

I smiled warmly, unable to take my eyes off of the little screen. I squeezed the Doctor's hand and felt his lips on the top of my head, "She's beautiful already."

It nearly took all day, but I was _finally_ discharged from the hospital and allowed to go home. The Doctor drove us in a rental car he picked up. Well, he called it driving anyway, my knuckles were completely white the whole time he jerked and dodged us down the road.

I scrambled out of the car as soon as we stopped at our cliff top, "Remind me to _never_ let you drive us again."

"Oi! What's wrong with my driving?" His lip jutted out in a pout, "I thought, all things considered, that I did rather nicely."

Jenny rolled her eyes and slammed her door, "Rather nicely? You almost ran over an old woman! _Twice_! I thought your TARDIS driving was bad, but this?" She shook her head, "Mum's right, you're never driving a car again!"

I took her hand and we made our way over to the TARDIS, leaving a speechless Doctor behind us. I smiled when I felt the buzzing of my key getting faster.

"Hey there girl," I patted her door when we got close enough, "Miss me?"

I was confused when the TARDIS reacted violently to my touch.

I screamed when the noise pierced my mind. It was a howl, so haunting and so angry that I threw myself back from the ship as if she had bitten me.

"Mum!" Jenny cried out with alarm and ran to my side.

"Rose!" The Doctor sprinted for us, smacking his TARDIS, "Stop it! Stop it you're hurting her! It's just Rose! **Stop!**" He screeched and punched her door so hard the whole ship shuddered.

The howling in my head stopped immediately, taking the pain with it.

"Rose, Rose are you okay?" The Doctor collapsed by my side, taking my face in his hands.

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, "Doctor what was that? Why did she do that to me?"

He pulled me into his arms, "Shh, I don't know. I'm so, so sorry Rose. She didn't seem to recognize you for a moment, I don't understand it."

"It _hurt_," I whimpered.

"I know Love; I know I'm sorry," The Doctor kissed my cheek, "Why don't we go to the house, ay? I can make you a nice cuppa an' then we'll put something on the telly, how does that sound?"

I sniffed and nodded, "Okay."

He helped me up and glared at the TARDIS, "Jenny do me a favor, run a diagnostic and find out what's wrong with her. Lemme know what you find, and _be careful_, there might be something wrong with her memory banks- she might be mixing us up with past enemies."

Jenny skipped to the doors, "On it!"

The Doctor wrapped an arm around my shoulders and wiped away my remaining tears, "C'mon, let's get out of here."

We were almost to the staircase when I caught sight of someone standing far away on the cliffs. At first glance I thought it could just be a random, innocent beach-goer, but there was something off about her. I felt as though I had seen her somewhere before, I must have.

That's when it hit me, the hospital! I had seen her across the street when they were pulling me in to the hospital, but who was she? She seemed so familiar, as if I knew her from somewhere other than that one encounter.

She was close enough now that I could see her face, delicate features and hazel eyes twisted up in a moment of fear. Her wild dark hair stayed still, despite the fact that the wind was blowing all around us, and she didn't move a muscle.

Almost like a statue.

I stopped in my tracks, "Doctor, who is that?"

The Doctor glanced over at where I pointed, "Who are you talking about?"

My brow furrowed, and I gave him a confused look, "That woman over there, standing on the cliffs."

He looked again, "I don't see anyone, are you feeling alright? Maybe you do have a bit of that concussion the doctors were worried about."

"No! She's right-" I stopped mid-sentence, and blinked with more confusion.

The woman was gone.

* * *

I heard Mara sneak back into the house, but I said nothing. I heard her climb through the window and glanced at my clock, it was 2:30 in the morning, what could she have possible been doing?

All sorts of ideas came to mind, none of them good, but I did nothing. I stayed in the dark lounge and waited for her to fall asleep. Because tonight was the third Tuesday of the month, and I had more important things to do.

I waited until she was fast asleep to sneak into her room. I felt my hearts clench at the sight of her muddy boots tossed under the bed and her knotted hair strewn all over the pillow. Where could she have gone? Who was she with? I had been able to feel her adrenaline over getting away with sneaking out, her amusement over something, but also her nervousness. Something she had seen had made her uneasy, and I could feel the memories seeping in to the corners of her mind.

I sighed heavily and sat down beside her on her bed, it was the third Tuesday of the month and it was time to suppress her memories again. I hated doing this, I shouldn't have to. With an adult Time Lord it would be no problem, the suppressed memories wouldn't return until the precise moment they were supposed to. But Mara was a child, and she wasn't quite fully Time Lord.

I leaned down to her ear, "I'm sorry," I whispered, and placed my fingers along her temples, "_Forget_."


	9. Chapter 9: Caught

Chapter 8: Caught.

When I was twelve I started sneaking out almost every night. Sometimes I would be with the Misfit Club, sometimes not. Most of the time I would end up wandering the streets anyway, it didn't matter where I went. I would usually come home around 3 in the morning or so, and pray Jenny wouldn't hear me. After a while though, I stopped caring if she caught me or not.

I glanced at my watch when the Misfits started to run off towards each of their homes, 2:30. With a sigh I tucked my hands into my gloves and started jogging for home. Jenny had been fast asleep when I left, but Time Lords didn't need much sleep, she'd probably be getting up soon.

I cursed when I found my window shut tight. I had sworn I'd left it open, but maybe it had slipped while I was gone. I huffed and closed my eyes, trying to feel if Jenny had woken up yet. She was still muted, and I let out a breath of relief before going around to the front.

I pulled out the key from around my neck and unlocked the door as quietly as I could. It opened with a slight click and I tiptoed inside.

I turned and shut the door as softly as I could, locking it and starting to sneak over to the hallway when a light flipped on.

I froze mid step and slowly turned to face her.

Jenny sat in the armchair by the window, watching me with a blank expression. I waited for her to say something, but she didn't. The silence stretched on for a moment until I stepped forward and slunk onto the sofa.

I swallowed, "How long have you known?"

"The whole time," Her voice was flat and I kept my eyes on my hands. I felt nothing coming from her, just that same muted feeling, as if she was still asleep.

I bit my lip, "Oh."

"How do you think Mum and Dad would feel about this?" My sister's voice broke.

I clenched my teeth, "Well I wouldn't know, would I?"

We sat in tense silence for a few minutes.

"Jenny-" I started.

My big sister stood and held out her hand, "Give me your key."

I cowered away from her emotionless tone, and handed her the necklace. She shoved it into her dressing gown pocket and turned to go back into her room.

"Jenny," I whispered, "I'm sorry."

She stopped, and glanced back at me, "I know. That's what makes it worse."

I didn't sleep that night.

* * *

She came to me in dreams.

The woman with the eye patch visited me almost every night that I slept. Whispering and smiling at me with a cruel kind of encouragement. I never saw much of her, just her face. She was always giving me that cruel little smirk from where she appeared behind a sliding metal panel.

This dream would always drive me insane, because I _knew_ her. _Knew_ her in a way that made me scream and thrash with fear, and yet for the life of me as soon as I woke I could not remember _why_.

But this dream wasn't the worst of my nightmares, only the most frequent. The nights I didn't see her face were filled with more terrors than I knew how to handle. These were the nights when my nightmares filled with white walls and Daleks and a war that never was. And while the dream of this strange woman was driving me absolutely insane, these were the nightmares that terrified me.

I woke one night, frozen with fear. I couldn't even breathe after the images that I had just seen. Fire and explosions and people's desperate faces, all pleading with me to save them when I knew I couldn't. I wanted to cry out for my Doctor, but the sound was stuck in my throat. I felt my little girl crying out to him on the edges of my mind, pleading with him to find me while I stared blankly into the darkness.

The door burst open and the Doctor came running through, "Rose? Rose I'm here, you're awake now; you're safe."

I wanted to answer him, to move or speak or even cry just to show some acknowledgement that I had heard him. But I lay frozen, staring at him with dead eyes as he shook my shoulder, "Rose?" He shook me a little harder, "Rose Tyler can you hear me?"

When I still didn't answer he stood, taking off his jacket and yanking off his sneakers. I stayed still when he crawled into bed behind me. I felt him curl up against my back, curling one arm around my middle and one underneath the pillow. He placed his lips at my ear and one hand over my own.

The tears finally came when he began to hum my lullaby.

* * *

I smacked my load of books down onto the table, "Doctor, it's time."

He blinked up at me with surprise, "Time for what?"

I handed him one of the books I'd been carrying, "We only have four months left; it's time to start looking at names."

"Ah," He took the book as I settled down beside him, "Did you have any in mind?"

I sighed, "Well, I've always liked something like Lila or Miranda, but those names jus' don't seem to fit her. Hence this load," I patted the books beside me; "Do you have any suggestions?"

The Doctor smirked, "You wouldn't like my suggestions."

I raised an eyebrow, "Try me."

He bit his lip, "_Well_, you see Rose, on Galleyfray names are really important. Not like here, where you name someone just about anything. On my home world a name had _power_, not just anyone could be John or William. The name had to fit the person."

"So, what do you suggest?" I pressed.

The Doctor smiled, and leaned in to whisper in my ear.

My eyes widened when he pulled away, "That's, that's so…"

"See, knew you wouldn't like it," He turned to a baby book.

I shook my head, "No, I love it. We could call her Mara for short."

He gave me another surprised look, "Really?"

I nodded, "It fits her, perfectly. Course, I still want a middle name, but that's just… Beautiful, I love it."

The Doctor grinned ecstatically and kissed my cheek, "Thank you."

We sat in silence for a while, each flipping through and glancing over hundreds upon hundreds of baby names. I huffed after making it halfway through one and tossed it aside, rubbing my temples.

The Doctor pursed his lips, "So, I've been wondering… Have you considered…?"

I glanced up at his nervous face, "Yes."

He swallowed heavily, "And?"

I gave him a fond smile and took his hand, "Doctor, I would love to, I would but… My mum always had a dream of giving me away at my wedding, and even though she's…" I bit my lip and looked down at our hands, "It's important to me, please. It's only four months more, please."

I felt a cool finger under my chin, "It's okay Rose. I'm sorry I tried to rush you, it's just… I've been searching for a woman like you for over nine hundred years. Now that I've found you I want to make it clear to the rest of the world that _you are mine_."

I smiled at his words, "I know, but-"

He held up a finger, "You didn't let me finish. I've been searching for you for over nine hundred years; however, I would gladly wait nine hundred more if it would make you happy- I can wait four more months for you."

I kissed his cheek, "Thank you."

The Doctor smiled, crinkling his eyes up and turning back to the book in his hand, "These books are really rubbish."

I laughed, "Yeah, they really are."

"Where did you even find this one?" He squinted at the bright cover, "I mean, really? I've seen more versions of Thomas in this book than I feel are truly necessary."

I chucked the books away, "Okay, maybe I'll jus' make one up."

He grinned, "She could be an Ara, think of it! Mara Ara Tyler, wouldn't _that_ be a tongue twister! Try saying it five times fast; _Mara Ara, Mara Ara, Mara Ara, Mara Ara, Mara Ara_."

I laughed, "Okay, Ara is definitely out… I quite like Belle, or Leila." I glanced over at the window, and froze.

There she was again, my mystery girl.

"Rose?" The Doctor poked my shoulder, "Rose what is it? What's wrong?"

"Can't you see her?" I asked, never taking my eyes off the girl. She looked so afraid of something, as if she was pleading with me for my help.

I felt a cool hand on my forehead, "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

I stood and made my way towards the window, "What do you want from me? Why do you look so afraid?" I shouted, but the girl didn't react. I went up to the window and hesitantly reached out to touch the glass. It was cool under my fingertips, "Who are you?" I whispered.

"Rose?" I jumped when the Doctor placed a hand on my shoulder and spun me around to face him.

"Can't you see she needs our help?" I yelled at him and spun back around to face the girl, but she was gone.

"C'mon Rose, I want to take you into the TARDIS," The Doctor tried to tug on my arm.

I flinched away from him, "No. I don't want you to scan me, there's nothing wrong with me. She was _here_, she's real, and she needs us. She looks so scared, Doctor," I whimpered.

"Please Rose," He held out his hand, "It would make me feel better."

I stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before giving in with a sigh, "Alright, but if the TARDIS attacks me again I'm blaming you."

He rolled his eyes, "Jenny! We're going up to give your mum a quick check up, be back soon!"

"Kay!" Jenny called absently from her room as something crashed, "Dammit!"

The Doctor and I grinned at each other, "She is _so_ your daughter," I chuckled.

He rolled his eyes and pulled me out of the house. I let him drag me up the stairs to the cliff top, panting and complaining about the fact that we parked the TARDIS so far away. The Doctor ignored me, wrapped up deep in thought as we approached the old ship. He unlocked her and pulled us inside.

I felt her growling at me as soon as I stepped foot into the console room, and shrank back into the Doctor's side.

"Oi! Leave Rose alone!" The Doctor smacked one of the walls as he pulled me into the med bay.

The TARDIS grumbled, and I jumped when my key shocked me, "Ouch! Not nice, you should be ashamed of yourself!"

Her lights dimmed and I heard her let out a sad chirp.

"What do we say?" I prompted.

The TARDIS sent out a puff of warm air that wrapped around me and blinked her lights a couple of times.

I smiled and patted her, "I forgive you."

"How do you do that?" The Doctor asked.

I blinked, "What?"

"_Understand _her, you shouldn't be able to at all. Jenny and I can because we're linked with her, but you're Human, you shouldn't be able to talk to her the way you do," He squinted at me and pulled out his sonic, waving it around my middle, "Sit on the table please."

I raised an eyebrow, "Help me?"

The Doctor blinked, and then nodded, "Oh right, right! Yes, here you go," he helped me up onto the exam table and flipped around to another machine, "I'll just put these results in first…" He plugged the sonic into the machine and turned to another cabinet, rummaging around until he found a thermometer, "Open."

I sighed, "There's nothing wrong with me."

"Open," He commanded.

I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth, letting him place the thermometer under my tongue.

"Good," He spun around when the other machine bleeped and tapped a few buttons.

"Doctor?" I mumbled around the device in my mouth, "Doctor what is it?" He was staring at the screen with a dark expression on his face, "Doctor?"

He yanked his sonic out and spun around to face me, "Let's see what your temperature is, ay?" I coughed when he yanked the thermometer out of my mouth with more force than necessary, "Sorry. Looks perfectly normal, all's well."

"What did the sonic tell you?" I asked.

"What? Oh, nothing, just that you're fine," He extended his hand, "We should be getting back."

I hopped down and took his hand. The Doctor seemed to shiver at my touch and I scrutinized his face, "Are _you _alright?"

"What me? _Fine_, perfect actually, molto bene! Shall we go? I'd love to see whatever it was Jenny was working on, wouldn't you? Bet it's marvelous," he started babbling as we made our way back to the house, and I tried to read his face. He seemed agitated over something, but his expression was closed off to me.

I felt my little girl shiver and stroked her mind with my own, "It's okay," I whispered, "We're all fine, I promise."


	10. Chapter 10: Gone

**Happy New Years everybody! I hope you all have a wonderful 2014. :)**

* * *

Chapter 9: Gone.

I woke on the morning of my thirteenth birthday with a slight smile. I touched the crystal around my neck, and my smile widened when the light melody echoed around my room. I quickly hopped out of my bed and turned to my dresser. On top there was a single rose and a small picture attached to an envelope.

I picked it up reverently, opening the envelope with care.

_Mara,_

_Your sister has told us about the trouble you've got yourself into over the past year or so, and some of the causes behind it. We're so very sorry Mara; we know how hard this is for you. Please understand that this situation is hard for all of us, your sister included. Go easy on her Love; she misses us just as much as you do._

_You've probably already guessed this but the picture your holding is of us. We hope you keep it close, and know that _we are coming for you_. We love you._

_Happy Birthday, little Cricket._

I stood frozen, staring at the picture in my hands. My mum was beautiful, with long blonde hair and kind hazel eyes just like my own. What shocked me though was the image of my Dad, I _knew _him, he was the man from the park when I was nine. Why had he appeared to me then? I remembered the statues that I had seen that day, and then again at the Misfits' mansion, how could they connect to my parents?

There was another thing that caught my attention though.

I ran into the kitchen, startling Jenny when I burst through the door, "Have you had contact with Mum and Dad?"

She placed a hand over her hearts, "Mara! You scared me!"

"Quit avoiding the question!" I shouted and held up the letter, "They say you've told them about 'all the trouble I've gotten into.' Have you had contact with our parents?"

My sister stared at me with her mouth slightly open, "Mara…"

I felt the tears sting my eyelids, "You have, haven't you?" My voice broke over the words, and I blinked back the tears, "How long?"

Jenny bit her lip, "I shouldn't let the pancakes burn," she turned back to the stove.

"How long!" I screeched.

Her shoulders slumped as she flipped another pancake, "Most of your life."

I tried to suck in a breath but it got lodged in my throat, "What?"

She turned to face me, "They charged me with protecting you, so they come to me in dreams. It isn't all the time, and never for very long. When they do it sends out a huge message to anything nearby that wants to harm you, so I have to drive out as far as I can… It's only to protect you Mara."

I let out a short laugh, "From what?!"

Jenny sighed heavily, her eyes filled with sadness, "I'll tell you when you're old enough."

Anger clouded my vision, "Well when will that be!? Huh? When will little Mara be old enough to handle the secret? When I'm twenty? Thirty? What else have you lied to me about?"

She wouldn't look at me.

"So you have lied to me," I whispered.

"Mara…"

"What's in that little blue book of yours?" I asked, "I know about the poem, but what else? Why am I not allowed to read it?"

"Mara," Jenny reached out for me.

I flinched away, "I trusted you," I hissed, "But I guess that was all for nothing."

"No, Mara I swear it's only to protect you. You're my sister and I love you, you can trust me," She whispered.

I glared at her, "Fine. If all of this really is just to protect me, and you really do love me then tell me this, what are those Angel statues?"

Jenny's face paled, and she stayed silent.

I raised an eyebrow, "Well?"

She turned back to the pancakes, "I'll tell you when you're older."

My lip curled with anger and I rushed for the door, "I think I'll have breakfast out today."

As soon as I was out of the house I was running, pushing myself as fast as I could towards the mansion. I knew none of the Misfits would be there, but that was fine. I really just wanted to be alone. I could feel Jenny crying out to me, and blocked her. The emptiness brought tears to my eyes, and once they fell I couldn't make them stop.

I crashed through the door of the house and stopped, letting myself catch my breath for a moment. All around me the house was quiet, as always. I shoved the picture of my parents into my pocket and ran upstairs where I knew they'd be.

And there they were; the three Angel statues.

"What are you?" I demanded, "What do you want from me?"

I heard a scratching from my left and turned to look. I jumped; one of the statues was reaching out for me. I turned to look at the others, and screamed. They both had moved closer to me, giving me placid smiles with blank eyes.

I stumbled back for the stairs, and screamed again when a chest collided with my back.

"Don't blink," A strangely familiar voice hissed, "Keep looking at them!"

I kept my eyes wide open as we backed down the stairs, "What are they?" I squinted against the dryness of my eyes, and gave in to blink. I screamed when the statues moved closer.

"Right now, they're the things that want you dead so do as I say and _don't blink_!" I heard the door open behind me and a hand grab my own, "Run!"

I turned and did as the voice told me to. Our hands stayed clasped together as we sprinted off down the street. I could barely keep up with his long strides, my shoulder wrenching in protest.

The man dragging me along wore a long tan coat and converse. He had a wild mane of hair and sideburns.

"Hold on, your-" I started.

He turned to look at me with cold eyes, "Yes I am, so do as I say and keep running!"

We didn't stop until we had made it all the way to the park. My Dad slowed his run as soon as we hit the grass, and pulled me over to a nearby bench.

I sat down gratefully and glared up at him, "So where's Mum?"

He growled and sat down beside me, gripping my shoulders tightly, "What were you thinking?! You could've been killed! You're just lucky Jenny called me and _not_ Mum or she'd be having your hide right now."

I flinched away from him, "Don't see how she could. Not like either of you are around much to parent me anyway, why start now?"

My Father's angry persona abruptly shifted. His shoulders slumped and his expression filled with sadness, "Mara you don't know how much we wish we could."

"So why don't you?" I countered, "Why did you both give me up? What could be so dangerous that I'm not safer with my parents?"

He swallowed and placed his fingers along my temples, "Let me show you."

I closed my eyes and let my mind open to him. I wanted to cry out when his protective presence filled a void I'd never even noticed I had. He wiped a tear off of my cheek with his thumb and the images started.

We sat in silence as the scenes played out behind my eyelids.

I opened my eyes when our minds pulled apart, he cupped my face in his hands, "Do you understand?"

I nodded, and reached out for a hug. My Dad wrapped me up in his arms tightly and kissed the top of my head, "I'm sorry," I whimpered, "I had no idea."

"I know," He murmured, and rocked us gently as I sobbed into his coat. We only pulled apart once I'd begun to calm down. My Dad looked at me sadly, "You're so beautiful Mara. You're Mother and I love you so much, but we just can't be here."

I nodded, "I understand now."

Dad bit his lip, "So you understand why you'll have to forget."

I swallowed and curled my fingers into his suit, "Just one question first. Have we ever done this before? Have I ever forgotten all of this before?"

He stared at me sadly, "No."

I chose to believe the lie, and let him walk me home.

* * *

The Doctor had been acting weird around me ever since the day he'd scanned me in the TARDIS. I kept trying to find an opportunity to sneak back to the ship and check the results he'd looked at, but he always found a way to intercept me.

"Where you off to?" I didn't look up from my magazine, but I could see him trying to sneak off.

He jerked, "Oh, um, just the TARDIS, she needs a little repair work done tonight. Might take all night so don't wait up for me."

I bit my lip and looked up from my distraction, "You've been saying that a lot lately."

The Doctor shifted and looked around, "Why don't you and Jenny go into town today? Have a nice lunch or go see a movie? Go do whatever it is mother and daughter's do, I'll see you in the morning probably," He came over and pulled me up against him, kissing me harder than I expected him to, "I love you Rose, I love all of my girls, remember that."

I blinked, "Of course I will, I love you too," I reached up to caress his cheek, trying to understand the look in his eyes but he pulled himself away and half ran out of the door. I stayed still, staring at the space where he'd just been. I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my heart that he'd been saying goodbye. That was ridiculous, he wasn't going anywhere.

I shook away my fears. Besides, I tried to tell myself, even if he wanted to the Doctor couldn't leave, the Angels would find us.

I heard Jenny come out of her room, "Well that was… Odd."

"That's the Doctor," I huffed and pushed myself up from the couch, "C'mon; he did actually have a good idea. We should go do something fun."

She smiled and grabbed the car keys, "I'll drive."

Jenny and I bought some Fish N' Chips before she drove us out to a popular vista point not too far away from our house. It was one of those rare sunny days, where the water was almost flat and you could see all the way out to where it met the sky. These were my favorite days, but I couldn't find it within myself to enjoy the view today.

My little girl gave me a warm nudge and I smiled, patting my stomach absently.

"So, what's been up with Dad lately?" Jenny asked in between bites.

I snorted, "You're the telepath, you tell me."

My daughter gave me a hard smile, "He blocked me. I felt… Something, when he took you in for a scan on the TARDIS, but since then he's been keeping me shut out. He still lets Mara in, but she isn't quite developed enough to tell me what's going on."

I sighed heavily, "He's the Doctor, and I s'pose he'll do what he always does. He'll wait until he's ready to tell us what's on his mind."

Jenny nodded, "I guess-"

I felt Mara squirm anxiously and Jenny's eyes went wide, "What is it?" I grabbed her arm, "Jenny tell me, what's wrong?"

She quickly turned the key in the ignition, throwing the car in reverse and spinning us around, "Dad's started up the TARDIS, he's leaving."

"What?!" I screeched.

Jenny concentrated solely on driving, ignoring the people who honked at us as we sped down the road. I clung to the dashboard with white knuckles, my heart pounding as we got closer and closer to the TARDIS. He couldn't leave me, he'd promised. He _loved_ us, all three of us, how could he leave?

Jenny stopped the car a few feet from where the TARDIS was dematerializing, and I threw myself out of the car.

"Doctor!" I screamed, "Doctor you _better_ get your ass back out here _right now_! You stupid alien! Come back!" My voice broke and I brought a hand up to my mouth to keep back the tears.

I felt Jenny's hand on my arm and spun around to find her in tears, "He's gone mum, he cut me off completely. He left us."

I stared at her, frozen, "No. No he'll be right back," I blinked back the tears that were beginning to form, fighting the memories that were threatening to pull me under, "He's coming back, he's coming back. If we wait, he'll be here."

My daughter swallowed, and pulled me into her arms, "Okay mum, we'll wait."

I hid my face into her shoulder, and sobbed.


	11. Chapter 11: Silent

Chapter 10: Silent.

I stopped going out with the Misfit Club when I was fourteen. The whole club had started breaking up a long time ago really. It had started when shy Evelyn got caught by her parents and then later decided that our little group really just wasn't worth the trouble. Next to go had been Nathan, who now spent his time painting graffiti all over the less-than-respectable parts of London.

Rita and Sierra had dropped out simply because they lost interest, although _they_ stayed close friends. I had laughed when I heard that, it didn't surprise me in the least. Ever since Sierra had met Rita she'd started to change- morph into the stranger she was now. A girl more worried about where her skirt came from and what make-up she was wearing rather than her lifelong friends.

As for me, I spent my nights wandering around the city. Despite Jenny's warning, I couldn't really help myself. I was much more careful now though, I was always home by one and I never went as far as I used to. More often than not I found myself searching for the quieter places, the dark corners nobody ever ventured into. I relished the silence; it brought me a peace I couldn't find in my life, space to think without someone hovering.

On one such night I happened to stumble upon Nathan, working on one of his 'projects.'

"Well look who we have here, you've turned into a real rebel haven't you?" I called out.

Nathan jumped and spun around with wide eyes, "Mara!" He laughed, "You nearly gave me a heart attack! Thought you were a cop."

I grinned, "I like it," I pointed to his design, which was the former Misfits' seal, "Might even be better than the original."

"Yeah?" He smiled, "I would call it my finest work, although I must say nothing could be better than the original."

I smiled, "Which you stole from me, never a good way to start a career, that."

Nathan laughed and tucked away his spray can in a black bag, "You headed anywhere?"

I shrugged, "Thought I might start heading home soon. Why, you got somewhere you need to be?"

He grinned, "Naw, but I know this nice little spot I'd like to show you, if you're brave enough that is."

I rolled my eyes, "Show me."

Nathan winked and turned to run down the other side of the alley, "Follow me."

We jogged through the dark streets, our steps loudly echoing off of the high buildings. I tried not to see the few people hiding in the shadows, focusing instead on the back of Nathan's head. He stopped in front of a rickety looking fire escape and yanked the ladder down.

I stopped to catch my breath, "I am _not_ going up that."

He snorted, "Oh c'mon Mara, where's your sense of adventure? I won't let you fall off, I promise," He offered me his hand.

I huffed, but took the offering. Nathan led us all the way up to the roof, only stopping to allow us to catch our breath once we'd reached the top.

"I can't believe you got me up here," I panted.

He laughed, "C'mon, that's not the best part."

I straightened up and followed him across the roof, my eyes widening as we stepped up to the edge.

"It's so beautiful," I whispered. You could see most of London from up where we were, all sprawled out and lit up just like on a postcard.

"I know," Nathan smirked, looking at me.

I rolled my eyes and punched his arm, "Shut up you."

He only laughed and tossed his bag aside, "Oh just take the compliment Mara, 's not like I'm serious."

I raised my eyebrow at him and started back for the other side of the roof, "I should be heading back; she's going to be awake soon."

"Aw no Mara, I know I'm a jerk but please don't go," He tried to catch my hand.

I sighed heavily, "I've already been caught once, and I don't think she'll tolerate it another time. I really do have to go I'm sorry."

"Okay, but you should meet me up here again sometime," Nathan grinned, looking far too hopeful for his own good.

I bit my lip, "I dunno Nathan. This is really far, even for me." His face fell a little bit and I groaned inwardly, "But you could always meet me at the mansion."

He smiled widely and dropped my hand, "I'd like that."

I blushed, and ran all the way home with a wide smile on my face.

* * *

I hadn't said a word since the Doctor left.

I sat staring at the space the TARDIS had sat on for five and a half hours. He'd always told me to wait five and a half hours for him, no matter what, so that's what I was going to do. I was going to sit on that hard patch of ground until he came back.

Needless to say, he didn't come back after five and a half hours.

The nightmares started getting worse only a few days after he'd left. I never woke screaming anymore, at least, not out loud. I would just lay there and stare at the wall, not even daring to breathe. Jenny would hear my silence and come in to bring me back to myself, but the longer I went without my Doctor the worse it got.

It was always her now, always watching me in my dreams.

When I was awake I would go through the motions of taking care of myself. I wouldn't do it at all if I wasn't eight months pregnant. Jenny would try to encourage me by cooking and cleaning and laying out my clothes so I didn't have to think about any of it. Some part of me felt a little guilty, I was still her Mum; shouldn't I be taking care of her?

I knew she suffered from the Doctor's absence. I could see her tears, even when she thought I wasn't paying attention.

But even throughout all of this, I never spoke a single word.

I sat on the lawn chair Jenny had given me and clutched the warm mug of tea closer to my chest. It was a little over a month now, and he still wasn't back. I was starting to lose hope that he would ever come back. Maybe he'd finally left me behind for good, maybe he'd grown tired of my nightmares and the fact that I couldn't travel anymore. Maybe he'd grown tired of domestic or decided he really didn't want to deal with a baby after all.

_No_. I told myself, _stop right there_. Because I remembered, I clung to those last few words he'd said to me.

"_I love you Rose, I love all of my girls, remember that."_

"Isn't the ocean lovely today Mum?" Jenny pulled out her phone and took a picture of the scene below us.

I shivered when I saw a blonde tourist walking with a man on her arm. I closed my eyes against the flashback, clenching my fists tight to try to hold it off.

"Mum?" Jenny asked.

"_Will I ever see you again?"_

"_You can't," He whispered, looking so heartbroken._

I felt a hand take my own and snatched it away. I opened my eyes, and found Jenny watching me with a hurt expression, "It's alright Mum, I'm right here."

I swallowed and turned to stare at the empty space where the TARDIS should be. My baby girl sent me a strong wave of disapproval and a sharp kick to the ribs. I grunted and placed a hand on the bruised spot, she rarely did something like that.

I still remembered the first time the Doctor had felt her move.

"_Doctor!" I cried out with a wide smile on my face._

"_What, what is it?" The Doctor slid into the library with a panicked expression._

_I beckoned for him to come closer, "She's moving."_

_His eyes widened with delight and he hesitantly reached out, "May I?"_

_I nodded, and placed his hand over where I could feel our little girl kicking her feet. The Doctor went absolutely still for a moment, eyes widening with wonder._

_He let out a loud laugh, "That's… That's…"_

"Amazing," I breathed.

"What?" Jenny's eyes flared with hope, "Did you say something Mum?"

I blinked, confused for a moment, before turning to stare out at the waves.

Jenny sighed heavily, "No, of course you didn't."

I glanced over at the where the TARDIS should be, and froze. There she was again, that strange girl who looked so afraid. I lurched to my feet and started to march over to her.

"Mum?" Jenny called, but I ignored her.

I stopped in front of the girl, "Who are you?" I screeched, "What do you want from me?" She only stared right through me, her eyes glazed over with that look of absolute terror.

"Mum?" I heard Jenny whisper behind me, "Mum there's no one there."

"Yes there is," I snarled and reached out for the girl to prove her existence, but my hand grabbed around empty air. I screamed with frustration when she disappeared completely, "What do you _want from me_?!"

I flinched when Jenny grabbed my arm, "Mum, maybe we should go inside."

I shrugged out of her grip and sighed heavily, "She's real."

"Okay Mum, okay, but let's go inside ay? You're gonna freeze in this rain."

I blinked, only just starting to register the ice-cold drops that had already left me completely drenched. Jenny was watching me with concern written all across her face, just a tiny bit of hurt in the back of her eyes. I braced myself against her touch, but did as she asked. I curled my coat in tighter and carefully made my way down to stairs to our little house.

Jenny sighed heavily when we got back inside, "You go get some dry clothes on and I'll make us both a nice cuppa, yeah?"

I swallowed, and nodded.

Jenny's expression grew sad, "He'll come back for us Mum, I swear."

I bit my lip and nodded again, going for the bedroom. I sat on the bed and listened to her go about making tea. I even smiled a little when she dropped the kettle, feeling a bit of disapproval over her choice of words.

Finally, I changed into a new set of clothes and rejoined my daughter in the main room.

"Wonder what's on telly," She flipped the TV on and settled onto the couch beside me. I vaguely heard the newscaster's voice droning through the speakers. Outside I could hear the wind and the rain beating against our house, the waves crashing against the sand. Somewhere high above I even heard the cry of a Seagull.

But I almost missed it when Jenny grabbed my hand, "I'm sure he misses you too Mum."

I blinked, confused for a moment, had I said something out loud?

We spent the rest of our day curled up on the couch with mugs in our hands, listening to the storm raging outside and watching bad sitcoms. I barely paid attention to any of it, even struggling to focus on all the things Jenny was talking to me about. She spent the whole time talking, endlessly chattering to me about anything and everything that came into her head. At times I was tempted to respond, but she would prattle on so fast I couldn't even collect my thoughts. So instead I sat, and I listened, and I sipped my tea until her voice quivered and then went quiet.

We spent the rest of the time in silence.


	12. Chapter 12: The Family that Waits

**Well, I was gonna wait a bit to post this chapter, but I don't think I can. We're getting so close to the climax! I'd like to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews and I hope you all enjoy. :)**

* * *

Chapter 11: The Family that Waits.

Of course, I wasn't quite telling the truth when I said I didn't know why Dad was acting the way he was.

"They're not your mum and baby sister," Dad had told me seriously, "I mean, they are, but they aren't. Someone took them, that's just a- a copy of your mother's body."

"Is that why she can't hear Mara screaming?" I whispered.

He nodded, "It's a wonder Mara's been able to break through to _us_ at all."

I swallowed, "What do you need me to do?"

"I need to go, there's a factory in the 22nd century that I remember reading about that used technology like this. I need to make sure that's what we're dealing with. What I need _you_ to do is stay here an' look after your mum. She won't be happy that I left," He silenced my argument against being left behind with a look, "Jenny please."

I bit my lip, "Okay, but what about the Angels?"

"I've been working on a shield that will keep my signature invisible to them, but I only have a narrow space of time to use it. I need you to distract your Mother so she can't stop me from leaving," He commanded.

I nodded, "Distract and protect Mum, can do Father."

He caught my wrist before I could leave, "Jenny… There is one more thing," he waited until I'd sat back down. Dad sighed, "Your Mother has been through a lot, and when I leave she might lash out," He let out a hard smile, "I have a tendency to try and leave her behind."

"I'll be there for her," I whispered.

He swallowed, "There's more. She gets terrible nightmares, when they happen it's best to just sit with her for a while. She usually comes back to herself, but if she doesn't you'll need to shake her really hard. Don't worry about hurting her, okay? Just… Be there for her when-" He cut off and looked up to the ceiling, fighting back tears.

I took his hand, feeling all of the emotions he couldn't say, "I promise Dad, I'll protect her. We'll be waiting for you when you get back. Just… Come home soon, yeah?"

He nodded and kissed my cheek, "Now go, wait for me to call you."

I squeezed his hand, "Dad… I…"

He smiled softly and patted my cheek, "I know. Me too."

I kissed his cheek, and ran out to wait for my cue.

* * *

I opened my eyes wide when I heard tapping on my window. I quickly lurched to my feet, grabbing the sonic screwdriver Jenny had given me for my fifteenth birthday and rushing over to face the intruder.

I held my breath as I grabbed the bottom and threw it upwards, pointing my sonic at whoever was trying to break in.

"Oi! What are you gonna do to me with that thing?" Nathan demanded.

I let out a large breath of relief and tucked it into my pocket, "What the hell are you doing here?"

He grinned, "So I take it you _don't_ want me to show you what I've had planned for our first year anniversary?"

I smiled at him coyly and leaned against the windowsill, "Maybe… Will there be cake?"

He snorted, "Of course, Banana flavored," He waggled his eyebrows.

I laughed, "Alright just give me a moment."

Nathan waited a bit impatiently until I was safely on the ground beside him. He took my hand, threading our fingers together and giving me a soft kiss, "Ready?"

I smiled, "Always."

We ran, giggling all the way until we reached the mansion. I stopped right outside, scanning the house for those Angel statues. I didn't understand _why_ but a part of me felt like I should do anything to stay away from them. They were dangerous somehow, I just couldn't quite remember.

"Mara?" Nathan turned back at the door, "What is it?"

I shook myself, "Nothing, I'm coming." He stopped me at the door and covered my eyes, "Oi!"

"No cheating!" He whispered into my ear.

I grinned and allowed him to lead me forward. I knew the house well enough by now to know we were heading for the old Misfits' meeting place. Nathan stopped me and I smiled, "Can I open my eyes now?"

"Wait," He removed the hand from my eyes and I heard footsteps scurrying away from me, "Okay, now."

I opened my eyes, and my smile widened. He'd placed candles all around the room, laying out a picnic on a thick quilt. And, to top it all off, there really was banana flavored cake.

"Oh. My. God," I laughed, "I love it."

Nathan smiled, "Really?"

I nodded and made my way over to him, looking around at all he'd done, "When did you have time for all of this?"

He shrugged, "I may have taken an extra-long lunch break during school hours."

I smacked his arm, "Don't ditch school."

"What?" He rubbed his arm, looking bewildered, "Why does it matter to you?"

I pressed my lips together, "You know why. I would _kill_ to go to school, you shouldn't waste it."

Nathan blinked, "You can be a confusing person Mara Tyler."

I swallowed and sat down, "So do you want to cut the cake or shall I?"

He sat beside me and took up the knife, "Allow me."

I watched as he sliced the gorgeous treat. I turned to the paper bags beside us and pulled out the traditional 7Ups. He handed me a piece of cake and I popped the cans open, handing him one.

I held my can up, "Here's to us."

Nathan smiled and leaned in to kiss my cheek, "Here's to us."

We had just gone to sip our drinks when out of nowhere every candle in the room blew out. I jumped to my feet and stared out at the garden with wide eyes. There were two Angels where none had been before, staring at us with those creepy smiles.

"What do you want from me?" I hissed.

"Mara!" Nathan scrambled up, pointing behind me.

I turned, and jumped. Two more Angels were reaching out for us, their faces twisted up and hands curled into talons. I grabbed Nathan's hand and looked back.

I screamed, the other two Angels had moved into the room.

"Run!" I cried, and yanked him through the front and out of the house.

"What are those things?!" Nathan cried.

I glanced back, and my eyes widened. The Angels were following us out, "Never mind that, just run!" I pulled us across the street, and turned back again. They'd stopped at the gate, their faces back in their hands.

I winced as I felt a sharp twinge in my mind.

"_Their called, the Weeping Angels," My Father had explained as we made our way back to the house, "Some call them the lonely assassins. Because their only a statue when you're looking, but the very second you blink or look away they come alive. And they are fast, faster than anything. Mara if you ever come across one again I want you to only remember one thing- __**don't blink**__."_

"Mara?" Nathan grabbed onto my shoulders, "Are you okay?"

I blinked as image after image poured into my head, I _remembered_.

I remembered everything.

I gave Nathan a hard kiss, "Be safe."

"Mara!" He cried after me, I was already sprinting for my house.

"Go home!" I called back, "Don't go back to the mansion!"

"I love you!" He yelled.

I stopped in my tracks, turning to face him slowly. He'd already taken off down the other side of the street, turning the corner for his home.

I swallowed, "I'm sorry."

I didn't stop running until I'd reached my house. I burst through the door, for once not caring whether or not I got caught.

Jenny jumped up from her place in the armchair, "Where have you been?!"

I gave her a hard stare, "I remember."

Her face fell, and she sighed heavily, "Mara…"

I held up a hand, "No. I get it, why you couldn't tell me. Dad explained it all, and I understand."

She stepped forward_, _"So you know what I have to do."

I nodded, "But this time… This time you have to take it all, the Misfits, the mansion… Even Nathan. I can't remember them, or I'll go looking."

Jenny cupped my cheeks in her hands, "I'm so sorry sister."

I felt her wrap me up in a warm wave of love and I let my tears leak out, "I know, and it's okay. Please, just do it Jenny."

She placed her fingers along my temples, "This won't hurt, I promise."

I closed my eyes and felt her kiss my forehead, "Before you do this… I'm sorry, for the way I've acted."

I heard her chuckle, "Sleep."

* * *

I swallowed down my tea and scraped the eggs onto a plate. Jenny was still sleeping even though it was eight in the morning. She never slept past four, but I knew staying up with me for the past two months had taken its toll on her.

"Mum?"

I turned and set her eggs on the table, "Eat."

Jenny blinked, shock all over her face, "You're cooking."

I nodded and sat down with my own eggs, "You better eat your eggs before I do."

She sat down and picked up a fork, "You're speaking to me."

I pursed my lips and took her hand, "I know these past couple of months haven't been easy… On either of us, and I want to make up for that."

She swallowed and squeezed my hand, "Hey, it's okay. I understand; you love Dad."

I blinked and withdrew my hand, "Eat."

Jenny sighed heavily, the hope in her eyes dimming a little, "Okay."

We ate in silence; the only sounds in the house were the crashing waves and our forks scrapping the plates. I was listening to the gulls screeching outside when I heard a sound. A sound I'd thought I'd never hear again.

I looked up at Jenny and she had the same look on her face, "Mum…"

I threw my chair back and leapt to my feet. Mara fluttered when she felt my anger, and it fueled my quick march for the door, "He better have a good explanation for this."

"Mum wait!" Jenny followed me across the beach and up the stairs, reaching out for me the whole way, "Mum don't kill him; just let him explain!"

I stopped when I saw the TARDIS. One of the doors creaked, and a familiar man in a brown trench coat appeared.

He stopped just outside of his ship with a slight smile, "Did yah miss me?"

I glared, taking three long strides up to him. I raised my hand and smacked him across the cheek as hard as I could.

"Ow!" The Doctor cried, "Guess I deserve that one, but blimey Rose! What are you trying to do slap me to death?"

"Where the hell have you been?" I shouted, my voice hoarse, "Two months Doctor! You left me, and I thought you were never coming back for two whole _bloody months_!"

"Rose wait," He raised his hands defensively when I went to slap him again, "I have a reason I promise!"

I crossed my arms, "I'm listening."

He pursed his lips, "Jenny saw some Angels approaching us on the scanner and I had to go take care of them but we couldn't tell you because we didn't want you to worry. I only wanted to protect you Rose, yes, I admit I should've told you where I was going but if I had you would've wanted to come with me and I couldn't let you. You had to stay here where it was safe," He stopped to take a breath, "Because neither of us can lose you."

I slowly turned to glare at my daughter, "You were in on this?"

She pursed her lips, "Well…"

I started to tremble with the amount of anger I was keeping under a tight lock. Mara squirmed nervously and I took in a deep breath, "And neither of you thought to tell me? Even _after _he'd gone?"

Jenny opened and closed her mouth, "I-"

I turned back to the Doctor, "Two months! You know about my nightmares, you knew what this would do to me. Two months Doctor."

He dared to take a step forward, "I know, I'm so, so sorry Rose. But you would've stopped me, and I had to keep you all safe."

I took a step away from him, "Don't touch me," I hissed.

"Mum," Jenny went for my arm.

I smacked her away, "No. I'm going to go back down to the house. If _either_ of you value your next few regenerations you will not follow me, got it?" I tried to control the shakiness in my voice, keeping my fists clenched at my sides.

"We're sorry Mum," Jenny's voice cracked.

I turned to leave, "Sorry's not gonna fix it this time Jenny."

Both of them watched me go in silence.


	13. Chapter 13: Breathe

Chapter 12: Breathe.

I blinked with confusion when I found myself on the floor in an unfamiliar house. I looked up at the wall, and jumped back from the red colored seal that was painted there. I _knew_ what this meant, somewhere in the darkest parts of my mind I knew.

Bad Wolf.

"Mara," A voice called.

I turned and found a strangely familiar woman staring at me. Beside her stood my sister, Jenny and a man with dark hair and sad eyes.

"Jenny, who are they?" I asked.

The man held out a hand, "You know who we are little Cricket."

I shook my head, feeling something pressing on the back of my skull, "No. I- it hurts Jenny, why does it hurt to look at them?"

My sister came forward to cup my face, "Find the crystal Mara."

I placed a hand on my chest, and looked down in confusion, why had I done that?

"What crystal?" I demanded.

The other strange woman came to stroke my cheek, "It's time for you to find us, wake up Mara."

I narrowed my eyes as I searched her face, "I know you; how do I know you?"

"Wake up," She murmured.

My eyes went wide when the realization finally hit me, "I remem-"

"Mara wake up sleepy!" Jenny cried.

I blinked awake as she threw back my curtains, "What?"

She jumped on my bed, "It's your birthday remember? You're sixteen today."

I felt my brow furrow, "I am?"

Jenny's eyes became sad for a short moment before she nodded, "Yes. Now, ready for your morning checkup? Let's just start with the basics, what's your name?"

I stared at her, "Mara Tyler."

"Who am I?"

"Jenny Tyler, my sister," I spoke slowly, only a bit unsure of my answer.

She gave me a bright smile, "Good job! Now, where do we live?"

I opened my mouth, and stopped, struggling with the answer, "Britain?"

My sister sighed, "That's better than yesterday at least."

I blinked, "We did this yesterday?"

My sister nodded and offered me her hands, "C'mon, I've got Banana pancakes ready for you!"

I squealed and took her offering. We ran to the kitchen, giggling like little girls as she helped me get my breakfast. I grinned and sat down with my treat, "Thank you."

She smiled, "That's not all, I have this," She held up a small brown package, "It's from Mum and Dad."

I grinned and took the package, stopping when I felt a small burning sensation at the back of my head. My face squished up when it spread across my mind and I cried out in pain.

Jenny lurched to her feet and ran to place her fingers along my temples, "Shh, shh, it's alright. Just focus on my face, okay? You're fine, I've got you."

I felt the tears leak out of my eyes when her mind connected with mine. I let out a breath of relief when her presence soothed the burning sensation.

She held me as I recovered, "What do you remember?"

I sat up and stared at her for a moment, "My name is Mara Tyler. You're my sister, Jenny Tyler. We live in… In… In…" Tears of frustration pooled in my eyes as I struggled for the answer, "My name is Mara Tyler. You're my sister, Jenny Tyler. We live in…"

Jenny sent me a warm wave of love and stroked back my hair, "Hey, hey it's alright. It's your birthday today."

I smiled widely, "It is?"

She nodded, "You're turning sixteen."

I gave her my tongue in teeth smile, "Do I get Banana pancakes?"

My sister sniffed, and nodded, "Here you go," she pulled a few pancakes onto a plate and handed them to me, "Nice and hot."

I smiled, but frowned when I saw the plate already set before me, "Did I already have some?"

Jenny yanked the other plate away quickly, "No, no those are mine," She went to the garbage can and scraped the pancakes into the trash.

I gave her a puzzled look, "Why're you throwing them out then?"

She set the plate in the sink, avoiding my eyes, "I'm not hungry."

"Oh… Alright," I dug in to my breakfast, only then noticing the package on the table; "Is this for me?"

She nodded and wiped her face before rejoining me, "It's from me. Happy Birthday Mara," she gave me a soft smile.

I grinned and tore in to the package. Inside there was a small blue book with a little ribbon tied over the front.

"Oh it's lovely!" I cried, but stopped. I'd seen this book before, I was sure of it. I looked up to find Jenny frozen, "Jenny?"

She jumped, and her wide eyes focused on me, "Mara, are you feeling alright?"

I gave her a bewildered look, "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

She swallowed, "Doesn't the book… Remind you of anything?"

I pursed my lips, and nodded, "It's the book you keep in the chest under your bed. The first page has a poem called TARDIS Child that was written by you after our parents told you to write it in a dream," I stopped, and stared down at the small gift in my hands that was so important, "How do I know that?"

My sister stared at me with tears in her eyes, "It's time."

I narrowed my eyes with confusion, "What do you mean?"

She stood and took my hand. I kept hold of the book as she led me to her bedroom. She set me down on the bed and made me put the new journal aside. I watched as she pulled over the chest I'd been telling her about, undoing the lock and opening it slowly.

"Jenny… Why can I remember the book?" I asked, "I can't even remember where we live, so how come I can remember that?"

My sister heaved a great sigh and pulled out a small blue crystal on a simple black cord.

I squinted, feeling a slight twinge in my mind.

"_I'm going to use the crystal as a trigger for your memories," Jenny whispered, "Once you touch it, you'll remember all of this. Everything you were ever forced to forget."_

"Do you know what this is?" I jumped when Jenny came to sit beside me.

I stared at the beautiful gem, "Yes."

She handed it to me, "Take it."

Slowly, I reached forward to take the necklace. As soon as my fingers closed around the crystal, the memories broke free.

I screamed as the walls of my mind lit on fire. Images crashed behind my eyelids, each fighting to the forefront, demanding my attention.

"_They're called the Weeping Angels," Dad explained._

"_I love you!" Nathan cried._

"_There were… People, who wanted to hurt you. We had to keep you safe, so we hid you both away. It was one of the hardest things we've ever done," Mum whispered._

"_I'm going to protect you Mara. Even if I have to die to do it, I'll make sure you make it back to them," Jenny murmured into my cradle, stroking my cheek as I cried, "Shh, sleep now. When you wake up, this whole day will just be one bad dream."_

I blinked as the memories finally started to settle, arranging themselves into the proper order. I remembered it all. I remembered when Dad had rescued me when I was five and thought jumping into the river alone when I couldn't swim was a good idea. I remembered when he had broken their number one rule and visited me for my sixth birthday. I remembered my Mother coming to me in dreams, but never in person.

I felt my brow furrow, why had she never come to me in person?

It was then that I remembered, and swallowed back the lump in my throat. I remembered what Dad had shown me. How I had come to this place, how Jenny and I had been forced into hiding.

I remembered it all.

"Do you know what you have to do?" My sister asked.

I nodded and picked up both of the blue journals and my sonic screwdriver. I grabbed a small knapsack from Jenny's chest and tucked the journals inside, shoving my sonic into my pocket and looping my necklace back over my neck.

Jenny placed a finger on my cheek, "I am sorry, I wish there was more I could do."

I shook my head and smiled, "Guess you'll be the first to know if she finds me, right?"

She gave me a soft smile and kissed my cheek, "I love you sister."

I blinked back tears and gave her a tight hug, "I love you too."

We were quiet as she pulled out the vortex manipulator and handed it to me.

"I'm glad I took Jack's advice and never took it off, even after the crack was closed," She let out a bitter laugh, "Wonder if he knew about this."

I swallowed and looked up at my sister. She had on a brave face, but I could feel her fear and anguish over saying goodbye to me with the possibility of never seeing me again.

I gave her a warm smile, "Do something for me? Before Mum and Dad come to get you, if I'm not with them…"

"Don't say that," She murmured.

I gave her a reassuring grin, "If I'm not, will you go to Nathan?"

"Mara, he thinks you're suffering from a bad brain injury," Jenny whispered.

"I know," I said, "But would you tell him…" My voice seemed to die in my throat so I tried to send her my feelings instead.

She smiled and squeezed my hand, "Yeah, promise."

I kissed her cheek and stepped back, "Well… This is it."

"Good luck," Jenny gave me a mock salute.

I grinned and winked, "Allons-y." I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed the button.

* * *

I had forgiven Jenny within the first week or so. Really, I had never truly been very angry with her, she was only doing as her Father asked her to. She had her heart in the right place, convinced that it had been the only way to sufficiently protect me. I could understand that.

What I could not understand was the Doctor's behavior. He _knew_ what his actions would do to me, he knew about the nightmares. He knew I feared abandonment above everything else, so how could he just leave the way he had?

I didn't understand it at all, and I was unwilling to let him explain.

I put down the dish I was scrubbing when there was a knock at the door. With a tremendous sigh, I went to open it.

"No Doctor," I growled.

"Rose please, it's been over a month. Please, can't you forgive me?" He pleaded, using his best puppy dog impression.

I swallowed but stood my ground, "No. I don't understand how you could do that to me when you knew perfectly well what would happen!"

He held up his hands, "Just breathe Rose, I'm sorry. I really, truly am. It was the only way I could protect you."

I snorted, "You could've told me Doctor, you didn't have to keep me in the dark. That choice was all you an' and your… Bloody arrogance!" I went to slam the door but he caught it and pulled it open again.

"Rose… Please, forgive me? I love you, all I wanted to do was protect my family," He whispered, "I should've told you I know, but I think I had good intentions in mind."

"Good intentions or not it still hurt me," I mumbled.

The Doctor let out a weary sigh, his whole being seeming to slump with the weight of my words, "I know."

I stared at him for a moment. He kept his eyes firmly on the ground, refusing to look at me again. Part of me desperately wanted to forgive him; to pull him in my arms again and promise everything was okay now, but I couldn't, I couldn't just trust him so easily again.

I let out a large breath, "Why don't you come in for a cuppa?"

His eyes shot up to mine with a surprised look, "Really?"

I bit my lip, but nodded, "I haven't forgiven you, mind. You're still sleeping in the TARDIS tonight, but… Let's talk."

He gave me a nervous smile, "Okay."

I led him inside and went to make our tea in the kitchen. Jenny came out of her room and jumped, "Dad!" She glanced at me and half ran to grab her coat, "I think I'll just go… Make sure the TARDIS doesn't get too lonely."

I rolled my eyes when she turned her back and joined the Doctor on the couch. We sat in silence for a long while, just listening to the sounds of the beach outside.

I broke the silence with a bitter laugh, "What is it with us and beaches?"

The Doctor grinned, "I really haven't the foggiest."

I smiled, but then looked down to my hands, "I thought you were never coming back."

I felt a cool hand under my chin and let him pull my eyes up to his, "Rose you have to believe me when I say this. I would never leave you, I promise. As long as forever is that's how long I'll stay. I promised to marry you remember?" He gave me a warm smile, "That's one promise I intend to keep. If you'll still have me, that is."

I stared at him for a long moment, "How can I trust you? If you take off so easily without telling me. You've always kept things from me, Doctor, even your name. And that's fine, I've never cared about any of that. Everyone's got a past, and I respect the fact that you want yours to be secret, but how can I trust you if I'm always afraid that you're gonna disappear?"

He swallowed, "You can't. You can't always trust me, and I would never expect you to. The life I live is dangerous, and sometimes I have to keep secrets because _secrets_ keep us safe. And there will be times when I need to keep those secrets even from you, but, Rose Tyler, I will never e_ver_ leave you again. I swear to you that I will be by your side as long as the two of us are alive."

I blinked back tears, "I missed you."

The Doctor gave me a sad look, "I missed you too," He started to lean in, slowly. I could see the hesitancy in his eyes, as if he was afraid I'd reject him.

I closed the distance to give him a soft kiss. His hand cupped my cheek, his thumb running over my smooth skin.

"Just breathe," He whispered as we parted.

I blinked, "What?"

He gave me a small smile, "What would you say to a trip to the TARDIS? I know she's been missing you."

I grinned, "I'd like that."

The Doctor popped up onto the balls of his feet, smiling madly as he offered me a hand up, "C'mon then, allons-y!"

I laughed and took his hand. He dragged me up the long path to the TARDIS, ending up half carrying me most of the way.

I groaned, "I'm huge."

He laughed, "No, not huge. I would describe you more as glowing," He placed a hand on the top of my belly, "Hello there."

I laughed at his wide-eyed wonder when Mara kicked his hand, "She missed you too." I looked up towards the TARDIS, and froze. It was not the girl, but the face of the woman from my dreams who grinned back at me from behind a heavy panel.

"Doctor…" I whispered, "Who's that?"

He looked up towards where I pointed, "Who?" His voice was hard, face a mask of stone.

"The woman I told you about from my nightmares, how can she be here?" I jumped when she disappeared.

The Doctor took hold of my hand, "Just breathe Rose, I need to get you to the TARDIS."

I snatched my hand away from his hard grip, "Why do you keep saying that?" I felt a twinge go through my abdomen and gasped, "Ouch, what's happening?"

"Contractions," He murmured.

My eyes widened and I grabbed onto his hand, "Let's go then."

He shook his head, "No, I'm afraid it's too late, they're going to pull you back any second now," he reached up to stroke my cheek, "And I'm so, so sorry, but it may be awhile before I can find you again."

I gave him a puzzled look and held onto the hand that was pressed to my face, "What do you mean? Doctor I'm right here."

The Doctor gave me a look full of heartache, "No you're not."

I gasped when another pain rippled through my, stronger than the last one, "What?"

He tore his hand away and it stung, "You're not really here, and you haven't been for a long, long time. But I promise you Rose, we _will_ find you."

I tried to step closer to him, "Doctor-"

The Doctor whipped out his sonic and pointed it straight at me, "I'm coming Rose," He whispered, and pressed down hard on the device.

I screamed when my eyes flew open. I was in a tiny metal room, and the pain was everywhere now. I screamed again when a panel slid open and the eye patch woman who'd kidnapped me smiled back, "Well, dear, you're ready to pop, aren't you? Little one's on its way. Here it comes. Push!"

I screeched when another pain went through me, and felt the memories flood back, had I been in this place the whole time?

"You better run!" I panted, "Because he's coming!"

She gave me that sickening smirk, "Push dear."

* * *

I screamed when Mum burst into a pile of goo, "What the hell Dad?!"

He turned and ran towards the TARDIS, hauling me inside, "Come one Jenny we have to find her."

"How the bloody hell are we going to do that when you just killed the clone?!" I screeched, and shoved him towards the console, "You idiot!"

"Jenny Lynn Tyler I suggest you _sit down_!" Dad roared, and I shrank back, "I have some favors to call in and we have a lot of ground to cover if you want to get your Mother back, so I would _calmly _ask that you quit throwing a temper tantrum and help me fly the TARDIS!"

I obediently did as he asked, "Where are we going first?"

He ran around to twist a knob I missed and smacked the console with a hammer, "We're going to send the Cybermen a message."


	14. Chapter 14: The Anger of a Time Lord

**And here it is! Some of you may have already guessed where this story has been heading, and I hope I didn't disappoint. Thank you all so, so very much for the reviews. It warms my heart to know someone seems to like the strange world of my imagination. Anyways, please, please let me know if I did well with this one, and enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13: the Anger of a Time Lord.

I tucked my sonic into my pocket and gave Dad a wide smile, "Wish me luck."

He gave me a mock salute, "Luck."

I took in a deep breath and walked out of the TARDIS into the Cyber-ship. I could already hear the alarms going off and quickly entered the lift, waving my sonic and smirking to myself. The Cybermen were going to learn all about the fury of a Time Lord, and not just from me.

I grinned when the doors opened to reveal a room full of Cybermen with their weapons trained on me, "'Ello boys, how is everyone today? Good, now I have a message and a question. A message from the Doctor and a question from me," I glanced around, "Where is the Bad Wolf?" I waited with raised eyebrows, "No one? Are you sure? Because there's no point in hiding it from us, we know the Twelfth Cyber Legion monitors this whole quadrant with those lovely little dishes you put just outside the windows. So you tell us what we want to know, or learn just _exactly_ what it means to anger a Time Lord."

The Cyber-leader stepped forward, "What is the Doctor's message?"

I gave him a small smirk when the explosions started to go off behind us, "Shall we try this again?"

It was relatively easy to convince the Cybermen to locate my Mother; the hard part now was going to be rescuing her. The Angels had already started closing in on the TARDIS location, as soon as they saw we were headed for her they would be there. The other part was the fact that they were keeping her on a military base, Demon's Run. Although, with the amount of forces my Dad was able to call upon I doubted it would be a problem in the end.

"Why do they call it that?" I asked Dad as he tried to locate the first of our allies.

"What? It's just an old saying meant to scare off children," He waved a hand dismissively.

"What does it say?" I grunted when the TARDIS landed with a sharp jolt.

"Jenny it doesn't matter, stay here while I retrieve our allies," He went to the doors, "Ah Vastra! Looking as lovely as ever, did you use a new shade of green recently? Lovely stuff and Jenny! Jenny, Jenny, Jenny my favorite Victorian spy-maid, it is simply wonderful to see you both again."

I smiled when the lizard woman and a young girl with mousy brown hair walked in, "Hello there."

Vastra smiled at me, "Hello, you must be Jenny. The Doctor told us about you while he was away, but… Where is your Rose, Doctor?"

My Dad's face darkened, "I'll explain while we pick everyone else up."

Madame Vastra gave him a curious look, "You're angry, why is that?"

He gave her a dangerous half smile, "You'll soon find out."

* * *

I looked down at my beautiful baby girl and tried to ignore the soldiers standing behind us, "I love you so much Mara, and I only wish I could say the same of these people. I wish I could tell you that no matter where they take you, you will be loved. I wish with all my heart that you'll be safe and cared for and protected, but I can't little Cricket. And I cannot lie to you, so instead what I want you to be Mara Belle Tyler is very, very brave."

I glared up at Madame Kovarian when she started to approach me, "Two minutes."

Anger rocked through me, and I winced when the electric current ran through my body again. Unfortunately, these people had not underestimated just how strong I actually was. However, I was surprised by the level of fear they themselves had in their eyes. I knew I was strong enough to take down at least a few of them, but they had a whole army down there. What could be so scary about me that they felt the need for such drastic measures?

I felt Mara's concern as she stared up at me with hazel eyes that were far too intelligent for my liking. I gritted my teeth as the little pain subsided and focused my attention on her again, "But you won't have to be as brave as they will, because he's coming. I don't know where he is, or how he'll do it, but he's on his way. Can you feel him Mara? Can you feel him coming for us?"

She sent me a warm wave of reassurance and I smiled at the role reversal, "He's the man of many faces, the man who will fight to the end of time to protect the people he loves," I glared up at the soldiers, "Not even an army can get in between him and his family," I smiled, "He's your Dad Mara, but most people know him better as the Doctor. And no matter what; no matter how far, or long it takes he's going to save us, just you wait."

"Time's up," Madame Kovarian said, and started to come forward with her arms outstretched.

A burst of panic and anger made the implants in my head come alive with violent shocks. Somehow though, I managed to ignore them, backing up with my teeth bared almost in an animalistic snarl, "You stay away from us Kovarian."

She huffed and flicked her hand, "Take the child."

"No," I hissed and clutched Mara just a little bit tighter, "No just leave her! I warn you, if you come any closer I _will_ hurt you."

I lashed out when the soldiers kept advancing, landing a sharp kick in the stomach of one and another in the shorter one's chest. The shocks were even more painful now, but I ran anyway, trying desperately to fight my way through the soldiers blocking the door while protecting my baby girl.

"No!" I screeched when three of them grabbed onto me and tore Mara from my hands, "Mara! Mara no! Give her back to me you Bastards, you give her back to me or I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!"

Madame Kovarian only smirked, "You could've, easily, but you don't know how do you? Besides, our pretty little receptors in your brain keep all that power locked up nice and tight," she came to tap my temple lightly and I shivered over her sickly sweet voice, "Goodbye, Bad Wolf. It was a true honor meeting _you_."

The soldiers threw me to the ground, a few landing hard kicks before following her out.

I stayed on the floor, but I wouldn't allow myself to cry. I would never let them have the satisfaction of seeing me cry over anything. Instead, I slowly brought myself to my knees and stood, trying to ignore the achiness of my body. It was a wonder to me how I was even standing, considering the torture in my head these people had subjected me too. But what was it she had said? I was powerful enough to kill them all, easily even, but how could that possibly be? Even more perplexing, how was I- in this universe anyway- the Bad Wolf?

I closed my eyes, and delved deep into my mind to find the answers.

* * *

Dad dropped me off in one of the darkest parts of the base, leaving me to sneak in the back. As I was crawling around in the dark tunnels, using my superior Time Lord ears to lead me to the massive army I could hear above my head I heard another sound. A far, far more important sound that tugged on the very cords of my hearts.

_Mara_, I whispered through my mind and waited impatiently for a response. Not long after I felt my baby sister's relief at being found. A wide smile ran across my face and I ran for the source of those feelings, pounding down the hallway until I came to stop in front of a heavily armed door.

I growled with frustration and tore the panel off, "Why can't it ever just be simple? Why can't there ever just be a nice, big, obvious button?"

"Need some help with that?"

I whirled around with surprise, pointing my sonic at my attacker. She was a girl only a bit shorter than me, around sixteen with dark hair and hazel eyes. I stopped, and concentrated on her, there was something more about her. I _knew _her, but more than that I could feel a faint yet familiar echo on the edges of my consciousness. It was almost as if the girl was telepathic, but was blocking herself from me.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

She gave me a shaky smile, "Hello Jenny, I s'pose we haven't really met yet have we? My name's Mara Tyler, I'm your baby sister."

I shook my head, "No. My baby sister is behind that locked door, who are you?"

The girl gave a tremendous sigh, "Fine," She growled, and I felt her let down her mental barriers.

I blinked as the images transferred, "You… You're really her."

She grinned and ran for the door, "Yu-p," I smiled when she popped the "p," "And right now I need to get you to me, which is weird, but we have to get her out of here before they show up."

My eyes narrowed as we worked on the door, "You mean the Weeping Angels don't you?"

She nodded, "Watch our backs while I re-route this wiring."

I raised my eyebrows, but did as she asked. I glanced down one part of the hallway, keeping my senses fine-tuned for anything unusual. It was then that I heard the scuffling coming from behind me, and turned to find an Angel right in my face, "We've got company!"

My future sister glanced up, "Shit, get inside!"

I backed through the open door as she directed. She slammed it closed as soon as we were in and panted against the door, "Okay, you are _so_ not telling our parents about that."

I snorted, "What? The fact that we were almost time-toast or your colorful language skills?"

She groaned, "Both."

"Freeze!"

The two of us put our hands straight up and slowly turned to face three armed guards behind us.

"Drop your weapons!" He shouted.

I glanced at my sister, "What do yah think Mara? Do these look like any sort of weapons to you?" I tipped my sonic towards hers.

She grinned, "_Well_, normally I would say no, but the man's gotta point here. They could, quite easily, be used as weapons."

"I said drop 'em!" The guard shouted again.

I bit my lip, "Okay, okay," We leaned down to place them on the floor. The guards seemed to relax slightly when they were down.

"Oh, but you all forgot something," Mara said in a girly tone.

The man raised an eyebrow, "Any other weapons you have put them down, now!"

I laughed, "Oh darlin', you really did forget didn't you?"

They all seemed to shift, "Forget what?" One asked.

I grinned and took a small step closer to them, "Well for one thing, we're the children of the Doctor and the Bad Wolf. That really should just strike fear into your hearts right there, considering the face that you dare to stand between us and someone we all love _very_ much."

Mara's smile widened and she winked, "Plus, my big sis' here was born with as much knowledge as you can think up about combat programmed right into her head, and she taught _me _everything she knows."

They shifted nervously again, "So?"

I gave them another sickly sweet grin as both of us took another step closer, "So, rationally speaking, if any of you had any brains at all you would just let us go."

"Because if _any_ of you knew _anything_ about either of our parents, which you should, you would know this," Mara and I both changed our expressions to cold stares, "We don't _need_ weapons."

They're eyes widened as the two of us ducked low and ran right for them. I took out one with a sharp kick to the chest, snatching up his gun and shooting the others after Mara had them down. I huffed and tossed the weapon to the ground, only then registering my youngest baby sister's wailing.

I smiled over her and picked her up gently, "Hi there," I whispered, "I'm your big sister Jenny."

Mara stared up at me with huge, intelligent eyes. I felt her send out a hesitant question.

"She's you from the future," I said, "But I've got no idea why she's here."

The older Mara had backed up towards the door, "C'mon, we need to get to Mum and Dad."

* * *

I opened my eyes when I heard someone yelling outside. I had found the memories I was seeking, but they were locked away so tightly I would never have any hope of getting to them without the Doctor's help.

I sighed, and shoved myself over to the window. My heart seemed to stop in my chest when I took in the sight before me. Thousands of troops had all rallied round to hear the colonel speak. I went quiet, and tried to hear what it was he was saying.

"My friends, today we shall encounter a man. And while I know we all have heard the stories that are meant to cause small children to run into the night, you must all keep this in mind. My friends, he is not the devil," The colonel had his hands behind his back as he surveyed the troops; "He is not a god. He is not a goblin, or a phantom or a trickster. The Doctor is a living, breathing man, and as I look around this room I know one thing," He paused, and smiled, "We're sure as hell going to fix that."

I growled low when the troops started to cheer, "I'd like to see you try." I heard the door from across the lab opening and whirled around.

A slight girl with wide eyes and an almost too-big uniform approached me, "Sorry. I shouldn't be here, I'm meant to be at the thing," She paused awkwardly and pulled out a small scrap of cloth, "I brought you something. Your child's name, in the language of my people."

I took the small cloth she offered, staring down at the beautifully embroidered letters. I swallowed in disgust, and pulled in all of my willpower to keep myself from hurting this poor girl. How dare she treat me with kindness after everything she'd helped- at least in some small way- to put me through?

"It's a prayer leaf and we believe, if you keep this with you, your child will always come home to you," She whispered.

I glared up at her, "Can I borrow your gun?"

The girl backed away from me with wide eyes, "Why?"

I growled, "Because no matter how innocent you pretend to be you're still one of _them_, and it would satisfy me to no end to watch you die."

She stared at me with fear in her eyes, "You can't mean that."

I huffed and turned back towards the window, "I've done worse."

We stood in silence for a long moment, staring down at the people cheering below us. I heard her hesitantly shift towards me, "Sounds like Colonel Manton's really getting them riled up."

I snorted, "These people have no idea what they're in for. I bet half of them haven't even _met_ him."

I could almost feel it when she let out a girlish smile, "He meets a lot of people. Some of them...remember," She let out a small giggle, "He's sort of like a...I dunno. A dark legend."

I whirled back to face her and she flinched, "Dark?! Have you met him?"

She cowered away from my sharp gaze, "Yeah, but I was just a little girl."

I felt my lips twitch, "We're all that way, in the beginning."

She stared at me with saucer eyes, "You've been with him a long time then?"

I felt myself let out a bitter laugh, "Longer than most, but less than some."

She gave me a curious look, "What does that mean?"

I smiled at her somewhat kindly, "It means that if you truly want to stay with the Doctor as long as you promise to your in for a long, hard fight. One full of pain and heartbreak, but worth it," I closed my eyes, "Always worth it."

I felt her staring at me, "You must be very special."

I took her hand, "What's your name?"

"Lorna," She murmured.

I squeezed her hand, "Well Lorna, I'm going to teach you something I learned a long time ago. You can believe whatever you want about the Doctor. You might say he's an angry God, or a mighty warrior, or a healer. But no matter what you believe him to be the only thing you have to remember is that no matter how hard or terrible the fight is, he's worth it."

She gave me a small smile, "Yeah?"

I yanked my hand away and turned back to the window to glare at the soldiers, "And what these people don't seem to understand is that he's coming. For me and Mara, and he's not gonna be happy when he learns what's been going on here, so I would suggest to you that when he comes you make sure you're on the right side. For your own safety, be absolutely certain you're in the right before you meet him."

Lorna's smile brightened, "Do you think I will?"

I glanced back at her, "Nothing's impossible Lorna."

She nodded and turned to leave, "I best be going… Thank you Bad Wolf. You're just as wise as they say. It was an honor to meet you."

I flinched at her words, but didn't look back as she exited the room.

Far below colonel Manton was still talking to his army, "On this day, in this place, the Doctor will fall."

I hissed when the soldiers cheered, "Don't bet on it Tin man."

He stared out at the crowd with an intense expression on his face, "The man who talks, the man who reasons, the man who lies, will meet the perfect answer," He stopped, and straightened himself up, "Some of you have wondered why have we have allied ourselves with the Headless Monks."

I stepped closer to the window, almost pressing my face to the glass. I had seen the Monks walking among the troops below but had never come into contact with one. They were a mystery to me, something about them made my blood run cold.

Manton stepped back towards the Monks on his stage, "Perhaps you should have wondered why we call them Headless. It's time you knew what these guys have sacrificed for faith. As you all know, it is a Level One Heresy, punishable by death, to lower the hood of a Headless Monk. But by the divine grant of the Papal Mainframe herself, on this one and only occasion, I can show you the truth. Because these guys never can be... persuaded!"

I gasped and brought a hand to my mouth with horror. Where the Monk's head should be there was only a twisted piece of metal. Who could do something like that?

Manton continued down the line, "They _never_ can be... Afraid," the crowd continued to react with discomfort and shock as he lowered the hood of the second Monk, "And they can never, ever be..."

The third Monk threw his hood back, and I laughed with relief. It was my Doctor, sideburns and all, "Surprised!"

I pressed my hand to the glass, "Oh you silly boy, you just couldn't resist could you?"

The Doctor threw his arms up, "Well 'ello everyone! Guess who! Sorry, didn't mean to crash the party but I do _so _love an angry crowd of Humans. Please, point a gun at me if it helps you relax," He smiled and winked when all of the soldiers aimed their weapons, "You are only Human after all."

I growled when Colonel Manton pointed his gun at my Doctor, "Doctor, you will come with me, right now!"

The Doctor turned to face the Colonel, "Oh c'mon Colonel Manton, we're already having so much fun! Besides, I have a question for you, and you have roughly three minutes, forty seconds to answer me before things get ugly. For you," He gave him a serious look, "This is your last chance, I suggest you take it."

Manton sneered at him, "What can one man do to us?"

The Doctor gave him a cold smile, "I was actually rather hoping you'd say something like that," He reached back and flipped his hood on as the lights shut out.

I felt a wry grin stretch across my face, "Oh poor Colonel Manton. Now you're going to see _exactly_ why the Demon's Run."

* * *

We ran down the hallway to try and get Mara to our parents. The older Mara kept a watch on the Angels following us down the hallway.

"They're gonna catch us!" She cried.

"Switch!" I yelled, and we swapped positions. I kept my eyes wide open and fixed on the Angels as we continued to run.

I nearly fell over when Mara stopped, "They're everywhere."

I growled with frustration, "What do we do?!" I heard Mara pulling something out of the sack on her shoulders, "Mara? Mara what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry sister…" Her voice was shaky, "Protect her."

"What? Mara what are you doing? Stop!" I screeched when she looped the bag around my neck and smacked down on a few buttons on the vortex manipulator I still wore on my wrist, "Mara!"

The baby in my arms screamed as we tumbled through time and space.

I only opened my eyes when I felt the ground steady beneath my feet. Slowly, I opened my eyes, "No," I whimpered. We had landed on a quiet London street somewhere near the Estates Mum used to live on, "No!" Furiously, I tried to reprogram my vortex manipulator, but it was deadlocked with a time set to sixteen years.

I reached up and yanked the bag up over my head. Inside there was only a brand new dark blue journal and a piece of paper. I shifted Mara in my arms and pulled the paper open.

_Sister,_

_First of all, I want to say I'm sorry. So sorry, and not only for what I just did to you. I'm sorry for the way I'm going to treat you for the next few years, and that I've cut you off from the two people you love most: Mum and Dad._

_Now that you've reached this point, you know that both Madame Kovarian and the Weeping Angels wanted me for the power I hold inside of me. Look at me Jenny, really look. I'm not just Time Lord, and I'm certainly not Human._

_I know you've heard the story of when Mum took the vortex into herself to save Dad. Of course, she doesn't remember a thing, and most likely she never will. But the question that you need to ask now is this, how did she survive it at all? Even Dad couldn't hold all of that time energy, and he only had it for a minimal amount of time compared to Mum. Well, here's the truth of it._

_Mum was never quite human. _

_What I do know is that there are special people that are around every now and then: Bach, Van Gogh, Einstein. These people are all special in some way, almost timeless. Don't ask me for the full story, because truly nobody really knows how or why, but somehow these people are born with the ability to understand and wield the power of the vortex. Some people believe that eons ago there was a race called the Quo. These people were naturally born with the ability to see through and control the vortex. Overtime though, they were hunted by others for their powers, and scattered across the universes. Most live in hiding, some don't even know what they are. Even more don't remember how to control the vortex enough to keep it from burning them up alive._

_Mum will know all about this one day, but that is for another time._

_I was born with this DNA, but I had something even more. I was born with Time Lord in my blood. This means that, while I may not be able to wield the kind of power that Mum can, I still hold within me enough energy to last anyone an eternity. If the Angels were to capture me they would trap me within a split second of time and feed off of me forever. If Madame Kovarian were to get a hold of me she could use me to destroy the universe and rebuild it to her liking._

_What you need to do now, is protect me. Keep me safe until it's time for me to find our parents again._

_And Jenny, I'm so sorry, but I can't remember any of this. You must make it so that I forget until the moment is right. When that moment comes, you'll know._

_I love you, I'm sorry._

_-Mara. _

The baby in my arms cried and kicked her feet as I sunk to my knees, "Shh, shh, it's alright," I felt fat tears rolling down my cheeks, "It's gonna be okay, I promise," I swallowed and soothed her with my mind. I tried to reach out to Dad, but he was blocked from me. I bit my lip and clutched the baby tighter in my arms, "I'm never gonna let anything happen to you sister," I whispered, "I promise."


	15. Chapter 15: Why Demon's Run

Chapter 14: Why Demon's Run.

_Demons run, when a good man goes to war._

_Light will fall and drown the sun, when a good man goes to war._

_Friendship dies, and true love lies._

_Night will fall, and the dark will rise._

_Demons run, but count the cost._

_The battle's won, but the precious are lost._

_All because a Good Man Went to War._

* * *

I smiled to myself as the Doctor's voice rang out around the room, "I'm not a phantom, Colonel Manton."

The soldiers below were beginning to sound uneasy, "Doctor?"

"I'm not a trickster."

"Doctor?" Manton's voice was beginning to sound panicked.

"No, I'm far worse than that. I'm the monster under your bed, Colonel Manton, and let me tell you why. You stole something from me, something far more precious than anything you could ever imagine."

I smiled over his words, "That's right, give 'em hell Doctor."

"Doctor, show yourself!" Manton demanded.

I grinned to myself when one of the soldiers finally broke down and aimed his weapon, "It's him! He's here!" All around him the other people got caught up in the fear of the moment and allowed it to cloud their judgement as they turned on the monks, "It's him!"

The Monks drew their weapons, and both parties started to fight each other. I almost felt guilty for smiling over the Doctor's ability to manipulate these people. They would kill each other, and we wouldn't have to. It was horrible, but a perfect.

Manton regained his senses first, "Weapons down! Do not fire! No!" He cried when one of the Monks killed a soldier, "Doctor! Doctor!" He turned and my heart nearly stopped when his weapon aimed at the Doctor again, "Nobody discharge their weapon in this room. Nobody!"

I relaxed when I saw the Doctor slip out of the room, and fixed my eyes back on Colonel Manton.

"Do not fire!" He commanded, "Stop, wait! Listen to me! I'm disarming my weapons pack," He carefully took out his ammunition and dropped it to the floor, "Monks, I do this in good faith! I am now unarmed. All of you discharge your weapon packs. The Doctor is trying to make fools of us... We are soldiers of God, we are not fools! We are not fools!"

My heart sank as the other troops caught on to the chant and dropped their weapons. The Monks slowly lowered their swords, and the chanting grew louder. But then, something happened I did not expect. All around the Human troops soldiers from several different races started to appear. I recognized some, like the Judoon and the Sontaran aiming his gun at Colonel Manton, but a few were unfamiliar. Either way their presence filled me with excitement and I clapped, "Yes! Yes Doctor you did it!"

"This base is now under our command," The Sontaran explained.

Manton sneered at him, "I have a fleet out there! If Demons Run goes down, there's an automatic distress call."

The Doctor's voice came out over the speakers again, "Well yes, you would normally, but not if I do something very, very clever and knock out your communications array. Which I did. By the way, you might want to hang on to something, 'cos here they come!"

"Danny Boy to the Doctor. Danny Boy to the Doctor," An unfamiliar voice came over the radio.

"Hello Danny Boy! Welcome to the party, you just made it for the games! Love a good party game, me. Anyway, this one's called shoot the asteroid! Have fun!"

I jerked when the asteroid rocked under my feet and laughed, "Ten points!"

"Target destroyed," Danny said.

* * *

I ran down the corridor, glancing over my shoulder and pushing my legs even faster when I saw the Angels getting closer. I could hear voices coming from just down the corridor, and ran right for them.

It was Madame Kovarian, trying to board her ship.

I stopped right behind her, "I think it would be much wiser if you _didn't_ try to escape right now."

She whirled and laughed, "I have a crew of 20. How do you expect to gain control of my ship? You're just a girl."

I smirked when I heard shots being fired, "Who ever said it was _your_ crew on the ship?"

Her eyes widened when, right on cue, two of my Father's friends marched out with pistols in hand, "This ship is ours, m'lady!"

I smiled, "'Ello boys. Let's take her for a special visit to the Doctor."

The older man narrowed his eyes with suspicion, "Who are you?"

I grinned, "Just an old friend," I felt my ears perk up when the sound of my Dad's voice drifted down the hall, "You get her contained; I've got a promise to keep," They stared after me strangely as I ran for the sound.

"Sorry, Colonel Manton, I lied. Three minutes, 42 seconds," I smiled as I neared the room.

"Colonel Manton, you will give the order for your men to withdraw," Another voice stated.

"No. No Colonel Manton... I want you to tell your men to run away," Dad's voice was low, dangerous, and I could almost see the flash in his eyes as I registered his anger. I wanted so badly to lower my defenses, but I couldn't until we were face to face.

I stopped in front of the doorway, "You what?" The Colonel demanded.

I froze when I felt my Dad's anger peak to a new height, "Those words. Run away. I want you to be famous for those exact words. I want people to call you Colonel Run-Away. I want children laughing outside your door, cos they've found the house of Colonel Run-Away," He jumped from his chair and ran right up to the Colonel's face, "And, when people come to you, and ask if trying to get to me through the people _**I love**_!" I cowered under his ferocious roar, and gripped the door frame for support. Fear overriding everything else.

He took a breath to calm himself, "Is in any way a good idea... I want you to tell them your name. Tell them about the day Colonel Manton met the Doctor. Tell them how you cowered in fear and ran with the rest of your army, and then tell them why. Tell them all about the anger of a Time Lord, pass along the warning you were unfortunate enough to miss."

I turned when two masked soldiers escorted Madame Kovarian into the room. She smirked at my Father, "The anger of a good man is not a problem. Good men have too many rules."

Dad slowly turned to glare at her, giving off a dangerous smile, "Good men don't need rules Madame Kovarian," He tucked his hands in his pockets and leveled her a dark look, "Today is not the day to find out why I have so many."

Kovarian stared at him with disgust, "Give the order."

"What?!" Manton cried.

Dad gave Kovarian a smirk as she shot the Colonel a glare, "Give the order Colonel Run-Away."

I smiled slightly, "Good choice."

Kovarian glared at me, and Dad seemed to register me for the first time, "Oh," He sighed, "You lot, do whatever you like with this one. I've got a family to get back to."

I jumped when he latched onto my arm and started dragging me down the hallway, "Ouch! Let go, that hurts!"

He tossed me back and glared, "What the hell are you doing here? Do you realize what a massive paradox you could cause?"

I swallowed and rubbed my arm, "So you know who I am, then."

He rolled his eyes, "I'm your father Mara; I'd know you anywhere. You can't hide from me," He tapped his temple, "Now what are you doing here?"

I bit my lip, "The Angels are here."

Dad raised an eyebrow, "I expected they would be, knowing you'd be here. It was their perfect opportunity. Which adds on to my question, why would you risk yourself and come here?"

I swallowed, "Because it's all fixed Dad, and you know it. I had to send Jenny away with my younger self; otherwise the Angels would've taken _her_. But this version of me is far more interesting than my infant self; I have a lot more energy for them to draw from. I had to protect myself."

Dad's eyes seemed to age, his whole body slumping, "She's gone?"

I looked down when his voice broke, "They both are."

"Do we go to you?" He asked.

I bit my lip, keeping my eyes firmly on the ground, "You came to us in dreams sometimes, sometimes even in person. But only ever to protect us, and I couldn't be allowed to remember."

We stood in silence for a moment, and then I felt two warm arms pull me into a warm embrace. I felt tears leak out of my eyes when I let my barriers down and his protective presence could envelope me in my mind again.

"I'm so, so sorry," He sniffed, "I was going to save you."

I laughed a little and hugged him tighter, "No Dad, you did save me. Many times, in fact, and I never once doubted that you and Mum love me. Never once."

We pulled apart after a moment and he gave me a warm smile, "My Mara," He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, only then seeing my necklace. He touched my crystal with light fingertips, "Where did you get this?"

I looked down at the necklace, "You and Mum gave it to me for my seventh Birthday; said it would show me the song in my hearts."

He raised his eyebrows, "Oh it does a bit more than that," He pulled out the same necklace from his pocket, "It's the token I was going to give to your Mother for our Bonding ceremony. Sort of the Galleyfrayan version of a wedding ring, except… More complicated."

My eyes widened, "I've been wearing Mum's _wedding ring_?"

He smiled, "Yu-p," He leaned forward and took my face in his hands, "Mara, I have one last secret to share with you now that you're of age."

I smiled widely, "What?"

Dad kissed my cheek, and leaned in to whisper in my ear, "You're true name."

* * *

I spun around from my place at the window when I heard someone trying to get in the door. Acting on instinct, I ran for the small table nearby and grabbed the first thing my hands touched to use as a weapon, "Whoever that is I'm warning you. You better stay away from me or I'll- I'll," The thing in my hands appeared to be a toothbrush, "I'm dangerous!"

The door slid open to reveal the Doctor, he gave me a smirk, "What, a sweet little flower like you? I never would've- Oof!"

I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and kissed him right on the lips, "I was worried you'd forgotten I was here."

He smiled, "Never."

I bit my lip, "They took her Doctor. She's gone and I've no idea what they did with her."

The Doctor took a slight step out of my embrace, "Yeah, about that… Well…"

My eyes widened as that girl, the one who usually looked so afraid, entered the room. She gave me a shaky smile, "Hello."

"You see, the Angels were gonna take our baby Mara. They're here by the way so we need to get off this base quickly so good ol' Danny can blow it sky-high. Well, I say sky-high, but we're in deep space so I guess technically that saying is completely relative to a person's point of view... Anyway, so Jenny raised Mara with little to no help from us until she was sixteen, at which point she came back in time to save herself by sending Jenny away with her," The Doctor swayed on his feet nervously.

I stood absolutely still. I could feel a slight tickling in my mind coming from the girl, almost as if she was asking for permission. I nodded, and then gasped when a flood of images entered my head. It was her, my Mara Belle.

"It's really you," I whispered, and couldn't help the tears that started to flow, "Oh my god it's really you."

She took my outstretched hand, "It's really me."

I pulled her into a close hug, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I wasn't there," I leaned back to look at her, "I wanted to see your first steps, be there when you lost your first tooth, meet your first boyfriend…"

Mara bit her lip, "I know," Her voice was shaky, "But you were always there for me, even when you couldn't physically be. You came to me in dreams sometimes, when it was safe."

I swallowed, and laughed, "So where's Jenny?"

"Waiting for us to pick her up by the Estates," She grinned, "She's probably worried sick."

I took both her hand and the Doctor's, "Let's not keep her waiting then, shall we?" We had just exited into the hallway, when the lights started to blink out.

"No," The Doctor whispered, "Please, just this once, just let it be simple."

Mara screamed when an Angel came up behind us, "Run!"

We sprinted off, dropping our hands to be able to run faster. I pushed Mara ahead of me, my heart pounding even harder each time the lights flickered out. I could see the door that would lead in to the hangar bay I'd viewed from my window. It was so close now, we only had to run a little harder.

The Doctor Sonicked the door open and shoved me through, "Mara c'mon!"

I looked back to see her trip and fall, "No!" I tried to run back for her, but the Doctor blocked my path, "No Mara, run!"

She stood, an Angel close behind her. I felt her terror, and our eyes locked as the lights went out again.

"No!" The Doctor and I shouted when her scream pierced through us. Her cry of terror seemed to nail me straight to the floor, and I only stood frozen when the lights stopped flickering.

There were no more Angels to be seen, and Mara was gone with them.

"No," I whimpered.

The Doctor howled with anger, grabbing at his hair and pacing the floor as I stood still with shock and grief. I could still feel her, screaming out for help, but I could see no way to get to her. How would I even find her? She was trapped, that one last scream forever on a loop in my head.

I sank to my knees as I heard others running for us.

I looked up when I felt the Doctor's hand on my arm, "Rose, there's a way to save her."

My heart came alive with new hope, and I latched on to his arm, "What is it?"

"Dangerous," He whispered.

"I don't care, just tell me!" I was practically shaking him.

The Doctor's eyes were filled with some emotion I couldn't quite name as he held up a small blue crystal, "This isn't the way I wanted to do this, but Rose Tyler… Will you marry me?"

I glared at him, "How will that save our daughter?"

He bit his lip, "You know those memories in your head that you can't quite reach? If we were to Bond, not only would you have a way to find me again, but I would be able to help you sustain those memories until you came back."

I raised my eyebrows, "I'm still not seeing how the crystal comes into this."

"It's basically the Time Lord version of a wedding ring. When we marry, we give our partners a token, but this object has much more special than any old ring. This takes hold of the telepathic network of the family, especially the two mates, and concentrates it. That means that no matter where you are, you'll be able to find us again."

My eyes shone, "But I have nothing for you."

His eyes crinkled in a soft smile, "This will only be a partial bond Love. When you come back, and you will, we'll be able to complete the ceremony. Until then, you'll be able to hear me, but I won't be able to feel you. I can support your mind enough so the memories won't harm you, but we won't be able to communicate."

My tears started again and I kissed him tenderly on the cheek, "Yes."

He smiled and slowly pulled the necklace over my head, letting it settle on my chest. I closed my eyes when his light fingers touched my temples, "I love you," I whispered.

The Doctor entered my mind with a soft nudge, "Rose Tyler. I promise to you that I will always be your protector. Your Best Friend and companion, but most of all I promise to always be someone you can count on. You've been seared onto my hearts forever, so that's what I promise you, however long that may be."

I gasped when he found the very center of my mind and attached himself to it. I felt as though there was a long cord which stretched from my mind to his. I was overwhelmed for a moment as his feelings came crashing through my barriers, but then I opened my eyes and an emotion I could never even hope to describe as anything other than love overtook me.

Slowly, I leaned in to kiss him.

His tears mingled with my own as the footsteps ceased and a crowd rushed around us. I winced when I felt a twinge in my head and clenched my jaw when memories which burned like a golden fire rushed forward. For a moment I was trapped within myself, silently screaming as the golden fire tried to destroy every corner of my mind. And then I felt the Doctor- providing me with an anchor to keep myself from getting lost in the ever changing maze of past, present, and future- cooling the fire.

I opened my eyes slowly, "I am Bad Wolf."

He nodded, "Yes."

I smiled, and gave him one last kiss, "I'll bring her back safe."

I stood, and turned to face the spot where Mara had disappeared. I closed my eyes, and focused my consciousness through the crystal, trying desperately to locate her.

My eyes flew open when I locked onto her, and I opened the tear with a silent command, stepping into the vortex with one last look back at my Doctor. He gave me a nod of encouragement, and I felt it when he wished me luck.

I closed my eyes as time flowed all around me, "I'll find her," I whispered, "And when I do, there'll be hell to pay." The Angels were going to learn why demons run, and not just from the Doctor. From another name, one not as well-known but feared in its own right. Bad Wolf, me. Rose Tyler.

_Demons Run, when a Woman Goes to War._


	16. Chapter 16: One Heart

**Hey everyone. I just wanted to thank you all for the wonderful feedback, your response to the last few chapters has really made me smile. Anyway, I apologize in advance for this chapter. It's sort of filler while I set up the next big event of the story and didn't quite turn out as spectacular as I wanted it to, but I hope you all still enjoy. :) **

* * *

Chapter 15: One Heart.

The Doctor clutched the teddy bear tightly in his hands as he stared down at his youngest daughter. He could feel her, faintly, calling out to Rose and him with distress. She didn't understand why she couldn't feel her parents in her head, or why she'd been left behind.

Slowly, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, "Sleep my little Cricket."

The baby calmed, and he smiled to himself as he carefully laid the teddy bear beside her. He placed a small note on the dresser for Jenny to find. He felt her barely sleeping only two rooms away. He wanted so badly to go to her, but it would be best for all of them if he didn't. Jenny was too much like him, and long goodbyes were never a good thing.

He nearly jumped when he felt something tingling along his arm. The Doctor whirled to face the attacker, but stopped. He could smell her, that faint honeysuckle and strawberry scent that was just _Rose_. He knew she would have to go in and out of the vortex to keep herself from getting lost inside. Maybe she'd seen this moment and chose to stop by.

He smiled a little when he looked down to the floor and found a single dark rose petal. The Doctor leaned down and picked it up, touching it to his lips gently.

"I miss you too," He murmured, and turned back to carefully rub the petal along his daughter's cheeks. She cooed in her sleep and he felt a spark of feelings he hadn't truly felt in a long time, "It's gonna be a long time before we see her again Cricket," He whispered, "But I promise you, I will always be here."

Mara's eyes fluttered open as he turned and snuck out of her window as quietly as he could manage, tucking the rose petal into his pocket as he made his way back to his new flat just down the road. He was determined to stay close for however long his daughters needed him to be.

The Doctor smiled to himself, imagining the teasing Rose would dish out if she learned he'd gone domestic for the second time in a row in the same year.

He glanced back at the quiet house he'd just left, and felt a protective warmth fill his chest. He may have two hearts physically, but when it came to his girls those two hearts would melt into one, just one heart twice the size to love them with. One heart that never seemed to stop filling and growing with these feelings he hadn't felt in centuries.

The Doctor stuck his hands in his pockets and turned away from the house, leaving his one big heart with his girls.

* * *

I stayed in the vortex for as long as I could, focusing all of my energy through my crystal to find the exact moment in time where Mara was being held prisoner. I could still feel her, a faint spark that was clinging on to my consciousness like a lifeline. They were keeping her locked in a moment along the Doctor's timeline, but every time I got close to pinpointing that exact moment I would be thrown back with a great force. The Angels would not give up their prize easily, I had known that. What I hadn't realized was just how strong they really were.

I gritted my teeth when it started to become too much, "Not yet…"

I gasped when I tumbled and spun out on hard ground. I spluttered and coughed, trying to catch my breath after having the wind knocked out of me.

I froze when I heard someone gasp, "Rose?"

I looked up into the eyes of Jack Harkness and laughed, "Well of course I'd find you first."

He leaned over to help me up, "I felt it, when you came through. It was like a- an electric charge was running right through my chest."

I smiled, "That's 'cos I was the one who brought you back to life Jack. When I did that traces of the vortex got left within you. That's why when I stepped into it I instinctually sought you out."

Jack gave me a startled look and dropped my hands, "You remember."

I nodded, "I remember it all. Technically, it's still happening for me," I could still feel the events of the Game Station playing out in the past. It was made even more prominent because I was this close to Jack.

I squinted at him; I could see what the Doctor meant when he said Jack was wrong. It hurt to stare at him too long, so I tried focusing on just his eyes. It hurt less when I focused my attention on one part of him instead of the whole picture.

"So when are we?" Jack asked.

"Mm, the last time I saw you the universe was trying to destroy itself because of a massive paradox the Master caused. You saved my daughter, Jenny."

His eyebrows rose, "You have a daughter?"

"You don't remember?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Must not have been able to retain it. The timelines were probably too messed up for me to handle. Anyways, who's the father?"

I smiled, "Why don't we sit down? I can stay for an hour or two, then I have to go, but I'd love to tell you the story." Jack grinned and took my hand, and looked hurt when I smacked it away. I gave him an apologetic look, "I'm sorry Jack, but you're still wrong, even to me. I can barely look at you, and your touch burns. Just gimme a few minutes to adjust, okay? I'm pretty new to all of this stuff."

"I still don't understand how you're not burning up," He whispered.

I grinned and gestured to two desk chairs, "That's part of the story."

Jack sat and listened to me talk about everything, taking it all the way back to that last day on the beach and recounting as much as I could. He tried to reach out to me when I started telling him about the Sycorax war, but pulled back when I flinched. I gave him an apologetic smile and continued on with the story.

I touched my crystal as I finished telling him about Demon's Run, "So, that's how I ended up here."

Jack came to sit beside me, "I'm so sorry Rose, I can't imagine…" He trailed off, and then gave me a classic Harkness smirk, "But, you've got to tell me, how was he? When you two…" He winked and waggled his eyebrows.

I snorted and rolled my eyes, "Only you would think to ask me that, jealous Captain?"

He laughed, "Only a lot," Jack looked down at his hands, "So what are you going to do now?"

I sighed heavily, "I'm gonna save her."

Hesitantly, Jack raised his arm, "May I?"

I nodded and huddled into his side. His touch still gave me an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, but by now I was used to him enough that he no longer burned me. I glanced up at the clock, "I should leave soon; I wasn't supposed to stay this long."

"Do you really have to?" Jack pleaded.

I smiled up at him, "She's my daughter. I really have to."

Jack huffed, squeezing me a bit tighter before releasing me, "All four of you have to come back for a visit when you're back together again. Don't let the Doctor get out of it, I wanna meet my nieces."

I laughed and kissed his cheek, "I promise." I straightened up, and concentrated my energy for a moment, grinning when the vortex opened for me. I turned to look at Jack one last time, "Love you Jack."

He smiled, "Love you to Rosie. Come back anytime."

I took a deep breath, and re-entered the vortex.

Everything around me became a golden blur as I flew through time and space. I could still feel my daughter crying out to me through the crystal. I concentrated on her signal for a moment, listening hard for the heartbeat I'd been following through the timelines before stepping off in the right direction.

* * *

I had no idea where I was.

For a moment everything around me was complete darkness. I had seen my parents trying to come back for me after I stupidly tripped over my own feet, I heard them crying out to me, urging me to run faster.

And then silence.

I screamed when the Angel had grabbed me. I could still feel its cold claws burning my skin, yanking me back along the timelines where they were sure Mum and Dad would never find me. I felt myself falling, rushing wildly through the vortex as it pulled me down. I heard its wings beating above me, cracking and groaning like stone. Which they were, of course.

_Hush child of the TARDIS, be quiet or we will hurt the ones you love._

I immediately stopped screaming when images of my family being tortured, captured and murdered entered my head. I balled my hands into fists, and waited for it to drop me, the vortex rushing around me starting to make me dizzy. For a terrifying moment I lost my sense of direction, and finally the world around me stopped moving.

Slowly, I tried opening my eyes.

I could feel the soft covers of the bed underneath me, and I sat straight up. I was in my room back on Earth. I blinked as the alarm beside me continued to buzz. My limbs on autopilot I shut it off and stood carefully. I gave myself a pat down, "Legs, hands, eyes, nose, hair I'm fine," I whispered.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when my door swung open, "Mara! You're gonna be late to school if you don't hurry up."

I stared at my Mother for a moment before rushing right into her arms.

"Oof, Mara?" She wrapped her arms around my waist carefully, "What's wrong sweetheart?"

I smiled widely and stepped back, "You found me! How did we escape without the Angels noticing?"

She gave me a confused look, "Angels, what Angels? Did you have another nightmare last night?"

My hearts fell at the sincere puzzlement in her eyes, "Where's Dad?"

"Work honey, now c'mon. Jenny's not gonna wait for you forever," She patted my cheek and went back out into the main part of the house.

I stood staring after her for a moment. How could she not remember? Did the Angels capture all of us? I stamped out that theory quickly, no they couldn't have. I would be able to feel them in my head, but when I sought out my family I was met back with a hollowness that made me slightly nauseous.

Still not quiet seeing what was in front of me; I grabbed my book bag and headed out to where Jenny was honking at me in her car. I slid into the seat beside her and stared blankly out of the window until we'd taken off down the street.

"You in there Mara?" Jenny laughed when the radio made me jump.

I blinked, "Jenny, why don't they remember?"

She gave me a confused glance, "Why doesn't who remember what?"

"Mum and Dad, why don't they remember Demon's Run?"

She sighed heavily, "Mum forgot to remind you to take your pills today didn't she?"

I narrowed my eyes, "What pills?"

Jenny pulled up to the stoplight and reached into the glove compartment, pulling out a small white bottle. I took them carefully, and the water she handed me.

"Remember to take two," She said and rolled through the intersection.

I stared down at the small bottle, "What are these for?"

Jenny bit her lip, "Please just take them Mara," Her voice was a soft whisper.

I took two pills out of the bottle, and carefully kept them in my hand while making it appear that I'd swallowed them down.

Jenny gave me a smile as we pulled up to a school, "Now remember, Dad wants you to walk down to his office after schools out. He'll be taking you home since Mum's helping me look for a flat today, okay? Do you need to write that down?"

I shook my head, "But… Where does Dad work?"

She handed me a small sticky note taped to her dashboard, "Don't lose that."

I nodded and hopped out of the car, "Thanks for the ride Jenny."

She grinned and took off. I sucked in a deep breath and turned to face the school. Part of me was longing to go inside. To do what everyone else did and pretend for one day that I was just a normal kid.

But I looked down at the address in my hands; my Dad's office was at a university not too far from here. I needed answers, and I was sure he'd be able to give them to me. Maybe he knew what happened to Mum and Jenny, why they didn't remember anything.

I tucked the little white pills and the address into my pocket and turned to the street. Quickly, I left the school grounds and headed left. I'd never been in this part of town before, but with a fast walk and a few calculated turns I was able to find the right building fairly easily.

I cautiously stepped into the lab, keeping towards the back of the large lecture hall. Dad was up front watching as his students took some test. I glanced over at one; it appeared as though the class was on the basic theories of Quantum Mechanics. I smirked to myself when I caught a student marking a wrong answer to a question dealing with time travel. It didn't surprise me in the least that this was what Dad had disguised himself as. I wondered if he ever got frustrated with how little his students seemed to understand about the subject.

I slipped into my seat and rolled my eyes when I saw another girl typing a question into Google on her phone. Leaning back against the wall I closed my eyes to wait out the class. My mind was filled with worry for my family. Why didn't they remember? Had the Angels hurt them in some way? I tried reaching out for Dad again, and shivered when I was met with darkness. The complete silence in my head brought tears to my eyes and I roughly wiped them away. Was this what it had felt like to Dad before Jenny and I came along?

I swallowed hard at the thought; he must have felt so lonely.

I spent the entire class drifting in and out of a light sleep. I would begin to drift off, my head nodding forward, until behind my eyelids I could see the awful face of the Angel. It glared at me with tongue and fangs extended, its claws wrapped tightly around my wrist.

"Let go!" I screamed and struggled against it as hard as I could.

I shivered when a sound like stone grating against stone assaulted my ears, _Time to wake TARDIS Child._

I jumped to my feet as my eyes flew open. The classroom was almost completely empty; the students left in the room were quickly hurrying out of the door. I grabbed my bag and half ran down the stairs to where Dad was stacking papers.

He glanced up at me, "You should be in school."

I stopped in my tracks, "What happened to Mum and Jenny?" I whispered, "Why don't they remember what happened?"

Dad's hands froze over his papers and he looked up at me with tired eyes, "Mara, did you forget to take your pills again today?"

My hearts fell as he stared at me with sadness in his expression. His suit was crumpled, his hair a mess. It looked as if he hadn't slept in a proper bed in days. I pulled the small objects out of my pocket and placed them on the desk, "I'm not taking them until you tell me what happened."

He took in a deep breath, "Please, not today Love, please don't make me go through this today."

"Dad…" I trailed off when he flinched.

He came around to take my hands, "We were… On holiday at your Gran's house. You and Jen went out for a walk without telling anyone. It was late at night and you girls were young… Anyways there was this band of men," He took in a shaky breath and pulled my face into his hands, "Jenny escaped and came running back to tell us what happened, but it was a three months before we were able to track you down. Your Mum was going frantic, you should've seen what she did to this one detective you suggested we give up," He gave a slight smile that didn't touch his eyes.

I blinked, "But… That's not what happened…"

He sighed, "The Doctors are saying that you suffer from a kind of Post-Traumatic Stress. You're changing your memories to something your mind can cope with," He whispered.

I looked down at the tiny pills and considered his words. I looked up and shook my head, "No. No that's not what happened."

Dad handed me the medicine, "Please Mara, just take them. I promise once you take them everything will make sense."

I stared at his offering, "How can you not remember?"

He huffed and took my hand gently, "Mara none of what you think you remember was real. Here, feel my heart," He placed my palm over his chest.

My eyes widened when I felt only one heartbeat under my fingers.

He moved my hand, "Now feel yours."

I froze when he placed my hand over my chest. I could feel my pulse beating steadily under my hand, but I only had one heartbeat.

_I only had one heart_.


	17. Chapter 17: Lies

Chapter 16: Lies.

I stayed in the vortex for as long as I could. I fought as the endless streams of time and space battered my body and started to eat away at me. I gritted my teeth when something stabbed into my chest and pushed myself on.

Abruptly, I felt a part of the vortex reach out and latch on to me. I screamed when something burning touched my skin and clawed at the space in front of me to try to escape.

During my months in the vortex I had grown used to the feel of it, but this was something entirely different. This didn't feel like the usual whirlwind of time and space that held every moment of every atom in every universe. This felt like something or someone had intentionally reached out and yanked me down to someplace I should never go. Almost as if the vortex itself was spitting me out.

The more I traveled the more I learned about the vortex. I began to understand what the Doctor had been talking about when he spoken of Fixed Points and Time Locks. These were usually far more serious, moments in time that had been sealed off from the rest of the universe. Though reasons for it varied, most often it was because the point in time was simply too dangerous to be allowed to be accessed, however, there was more he had never told me.

I already knew the vortex had an intelligence of its own. What I hadn't known was just how complex this intelligence could be. It was vast and ever-changing, kind and malevolent all at once. And while part of it welcomed me with open arms and part of it ignored me, a small piece wanted me gone.

I braced myself for impact as this same piece of the vortex violently tossed me to the ground. I rolled across a cold floor, only stopping when my skull slammed into something hard. I opened my eyes and blearily looked up at the unfocused figure looming over me. It nudged me gently in the ribs again and I coughed, "What happened? Where am I?"

"You fell from the sky," A kind voice whispered. I winced when I felt two hands gently pull me away from whatever I'd hit and press a cloth to the back of my head.

"No," I protested when the mysterious figure wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up, "No I need to find her; I need to find my daughter."

"Shh," The voice whispered and cold fingers pressed up against my temple after lying me down on a soft surface, "Sleep; I'll explain when you wake."

"No you don't understand…" I whimpered, but relented as drowsiness and blood loss pulled me into a deep sleep.

I woke to the smell of warm tea right under my nose. My eyes slowly opened and I tried to sit up.

Two hands quickly pushed me back down, "No, not just yet Love."

I blinked, clearing away the blurriness of my vision. I was in a small bedroom on what I knew had to be the TARDIS, but not _my_ TARDIS. This ship was far older than the one I knew. My eyes widened when I took in the man beside me. He had one large flop of dark hair and soft green eyes.

"Doctor?" I whispered.

He gave me a slight smile, "Hey there."

I smiled, but then shook my head, "No, no I can't be here. This is the future, yeah? What if I see something I'm not supposed to?"

He grinned, "They're all out, don't worry," The Doctor chuckled at the look I gave him, "You knew didn't you? You knew this would be happening today."

My smile returned, "I'm still with you?"

He kissed my forehead and stroked my hair away from my face, "I honestly don't think I could get rid of you if I wanted to."

"How come I can't feel you?" I asked, "I feel him, distantly, why not you?"

The Doctor only gave me a kind and lopsided grin, "We're only partially bonded in your time Love. If we were fully bonded you'd be able to connect with me too."

"Oh," I said, "Right."

He laughed and handed me a mug of tea, "Drink, sleep. I'll wake you up when it's time to get going."

"Doctor, why did the vortex throw me out?" I asked, "It reached out and dragged me down to this moment… Why?"

The Doctor avoided my eyes, "I don't know Rose."

I pulled his face until his eyes found mine again, "What aren't you telling me? What's wrong?"

He swallowed, "Nothing."

I snorted, "Bond or no I can still tell when you lie to me."

"Not always," He mumbled.

I felt my heart flutter over his words, "What did you do?"

The Doctor glanced over my face and pulled my hands away from him, "You should sleep."

"No," I grabbed his hand and pulled him back down, "Tell me. What did you do? I'll most likely forget you know," I tapped my temple, "At least, until today comes around for me."

"Yeah," He rubbed my hand, "Your hands are cold," He pulled my knuckles up to his mouth and blew on them gently.

I gave him a fond smile, "And you're avoiding my question."

He grinned and kissed my knuckles, "We had a fight… I lied about something important, and it almost got us all killed."

I rolled my eyes, "You do stuff like that all the time, I'm sure I'll forgive you again."

The Doctor shook his head, causing his mop of hair to fly into his eyes, "Not this time Rose."

"Hey," I wrapped my hands around his cheeks, "Am I still living on the TARDIS?"

He nodded, "In your old room though."

I smiled, "Doctor if you ever did something I couldn't forgive I would leave. If I haven't left you by now it's because I can and will forgive you eventually."

He gave me a hopeful look, "Yeah?"

I nodded, "Most definitely."

The Doctor gave me a wide childlike smile and kissed me, "Thank you Rose," He whispered and handed me my tea as he stood, "I should leave you to sleep now."

I took the mug gratefully, and caught his wrist when he tried to leave, "Would you stay? I miss you so much."

His eyes filled with sympathy as he slipped out of his sensible lace-up boots and crawled into the bed beside me. He seemed hesitant, as if he wasn't sure how I would react to lying next to a completely different man.

I felt him jump when I immediately snuggled up beside him. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and kissed the top of my head, "I should've known you wouldn't mind if I stayed."

I chuckled, "You're still my Doctor; you're still the same man inside. That's what counts, right?"

"I love you, Rose," He murmured, so low I could barely hear him.

I looked up and granted him one last light kiss, "I love you too."

I felt his smile as I slowly closed my eyes, feeling exhaustion take over once again.

* * *

I squeezed my eyes tightly against the pain that radiated over my entire body. My chains rattled and I clawed at the rough cement below me. I could hear the Angels laughing at me and panted, spitting out the blood that left a metallic taste on my tongue.

"What do you want now?" I growled, "You have me, you have my power, what more could you possibly want?" I glared up at the Angel that had its claws curled around the bars of my cage, a placid smile on its face.

_The TARDIS Child will tell us how to capture the Bad Wolf._

I snorted, "No."

I cried out when a sharp pain stabbed through my ribs, as if someone had kicked me.

_Tell us Child, tell us and we will have no more need for you. You could be free._

I panted and barked out a laugh, "No. See, I know your kind. You have me, and if I tell you anything you'll get her, and then you'll want more. _Greed_ will be your downfall, trust me."

I covered my ears when the Angels let out a high-pitched shriek of rage, _tell us! _They screamed, _Tell us, tell us!_

"No!" I called back.

I felt myself falling again, heard the breath rush out of my lungs as my cheek landed on the cold floor. The room seemed as though it was spinning wildly out of control and I tried desperately to cling to what I knew was real. I couldn't forget, not again.

"No!" I screamed.

"Mara, Mara what's wrong?" Dad rushed into my dark bedroom, quickly running to envelop me in a warm hug.

I felt myself shaking in his grip, "Nightmare."

He sighed heavily and pulled back my covers, "May I?"

I nodded and let him crawl in beside me. He placed an arm around my shoulders and squeezed, "It wasn't real Sweetheart; you know that right? Nothing in your nightmares can hurt you."

"I know," My voice broke, "I know."

Dad let me cling onto his chest as I slowly calmed down. We sat in silence as the minutes ticked by, until finally I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

When I woke Dad was still lying next to me, snoring softly. I smiled and crawled out of the bed as quietly as I could. He groaned and rolled over as I slipped out of the door and into the hallway.

"Mornin' Mara," Mum smiled at me from where she sat with her tea and magazine, "Dad still sleeping?"

I nodded, "Where's Jen?"

"Out," Mum's expression went carefully neutral.

"Out where?" I asked as I swallowed down my pills.

She sighed, "Just out Mara. Call her and she might come back for you."

I yawned and unplugged my mobile from the countertop, "Kay."

Mum kept her eyes fixed on her magazine as I made my way to another room to call my sister. I typed in her number and pressed the phone to my ear, wondering what they could possibly be fighting about.

Mum and Jenny had never had the strongest Mother-Daughter bond. Jenny was from an earlier relationship my Father had with a woman named Reinette. He'd dated her before Mum, and even now Mum got angry with Dad if he even mentioned her name. I liked her well enough, she had always been nice to me and sometimes when Mum was away and Dad needed a babysitter Jenny and I would stay at her house.

I shuddered when I remembered the one time Mum had caught us there. I'd been six years old at the time, and she'd kicked Dad out. I didn't see him again for a whole month.

"Hello Mara," Jenny answered.

"Are you at Reinette's?" I asked.

"Yeah, she wants to take me out apartment hunting today. We're leaving soon if you wanna come."

"No that's alright," I knew Jenny was always happiest after spending time with just her and her Mum, "I'll stay here, you have fun. Tell Reinette I said hi."

"I will," She said dryly, "Oh Mara… Stay out of Mum's way today alright? I would hate for you to get caught in our crossfire. Dad's off work today so drag him out for something fun."

I swallowed; the fight must've been really bad this time, "Alright, bye Jen."

"Bye," She mumbled, and hung up.

I held the phone up to my lips and stared out of a nearby window. I could hear my parent's having a hushed conversation in the other room. I tried not to listen, but the words seemed to burn through the walls.

"Where's Jenny this morning?" Dad asked innocently.

I heard Mum snap her magazine, "Out with her Mum."

"Rose," Dad sighed heavily at the venom in my Mother's tone.

I swore I heard her growl, "I'm sorry, I can't help it. I don't like that woman."

"She is Jenny's Mother though Rose, you can't blame her if she wants to spend the day with her Mother," Dad reasoned.

Mum huffed, "She could've at least told me that's where she was going _before _this morning. She'd made plans with me all week until she got a call a couple of hours ago. I took a day off work for her! They need me in management right now; we've got a big deal coming up with a brand new author at the _HarperCollins_ publishing house. He wants to sign a contract with us instead, and I'm one of the main liaisons to the whole deal!" She slammed her mug down, "It took me _days_ to convince my CEO that he could make it one day without me."

I peeked around the corner and saw my Dad loop his arm around her shoulders, "I know Love. It'll all work out."

She sighed heavily, "I know she's her Mum and all and that she won't ever… Love me that same way, but there is such a thing as courtesy right?"

Dad kissed her temple, "Jenny loves you just as much as her Mother, Rose. I see it all the time."

Mum took another sip of her tea, "You can come in now Mara."

I froze for a second, and then my cheeks flared at being caught eavesdropping. I slunk into the open, keeping my eyes firmly on the floor.

Dad grabbed his coat and keys, "C'mon Mara, get dressed we're going to get out of here before the beast attacks."

Mum shot him a dark look but kept her mouth shut.

I quickly scurried to do as I was asked. The house was covered in a heavy blanket of silence as I hurriedly threw on a pair of jeans and a jacket before rejoining my Dad in the front. He smiled at me reassuringly and held the door open as I half ran out to his car.

Neither of us said a word until the house was out of sight.

"So, we haven't had a day like this for a while now have we? What do you want to do then? We could… I dunno, go to the cinema or the park or a museum or something," Dad kept his eyes fixed firmly on the road, and I could see the worry lines on his forehead.

"Park sounds lovely," I assured him.

"Kay," He said and made a quick left turn to put us on the right path.

I fidgeted, trying to ignore the tension that was clearly lying between us. Finally I just couldn't take it anymore, "Are you and Mum alright?"

Dad gave me a startled look, "What would make you ask something like that?"

I shrugged, "Oh I dunno, maybe the conversation I heard earlier."

He sighed heavily and parked the car. We sat in silence for a moment before he turned to face me, "Mara, I love your Mother more than anything. No matter what tries to split us up I know that we'll both do our best to work through it."

I pursed my lips, "I know, but that's not the question I asked you."

He gave me a pleading look, "Why don't we just go for a walk, ay?"

We got out of the car and started making our way through the parking lot to the park. It had always been one of my favorite places as a child and I had spent countless hours just wandering around looking for all the best secret places.

"Mum tells me you have a boyfriend," Dad glanced at me.

I blushed, "I was gonna tell you soon, I swear."

He snorted, "Right. Anyway I'm sure he's not good enough for you, bet he's a pretty boy like the ones your Mum used to date."

I rolled my eyes, "His name's Nathan."

"Pretty boy Nathan," Dad made a face, "Not the best ring, don't yah think?"

I laughed and took his arm, "I'll invite him over for dinner or something. Jenny's met him, she likes him."

He rolled his eyes, "Well, she's not your Father is she? Doesn't matter what she thinks, he's still not good enough."

I grinned, "Oh be nice to Nathan; he's not that bad. You might even like him, he wants to be a- a… Whatever it is you teach a class for. He's a brainiac."

"The class is called _Quantum Mechanics_ and we prefer the term genius thank you very much," He nudged my shoulder.

I rolled my eyes and nudged back, "Yeah, sure, whatever. You're all weirdos to me." I looked up at a fountain as we passed by and stopped in my tracks, my eyes going wide with recognition and fear.

"Mara?" Dad's voice became muffled, and I could no longer feel his arm looped with mine, "Mara can you hear me?"

"Don't. Blink," I whispered as I kept my eyes fixed on the Angel.

He glanced up, "Mara it's alright, that's just a statue," He stepped into my line of sight and fear squeezed my heart, "You're safe, hey, you're safe," He pulled me into a tight embrace, "I've got you, you're safe, see?"

I pushed away to look at the Angel again, but it hadn't moved. I let out a shaky breath and looked up into my Dad's eyes. He looked slightly hurt so I pulled him in for another hug, "Thank you," I murmured.

"Sure," He rubbed my back to soothe me as my hearts started to slow.

I froze again, _hearts._

"No," I breathed and grabbed at my chest, "No this isn't real."

"Mara just calm down, did you take your pills this morning?" Dad's face was filled with concern.

I screamed when his face flickered into an Angel's for a split second, "Get the hell away from me!"

He reached out, grabbing onto my wrists, "Mara! Mara just breathe, c'mon baby, just breathe."

"No, no!" I fought him but he kept a tight hold on me. I heard it when my wrist snapped and screamed again, but this time with pain, "You're not my Dad, get away from me!"

_Looks like we need to up the dosage on your medicine_, He hissed, and shoved me to the ground as hard as he could.

My head cracked back against the pavement and I blinked as the whole world spun, "Help!" I cried out weakly as he stalked towards me.

_I'm coming,_ someone whispered.

Everything went black.


	18. Chapter 18: Found

**Well here we go, thank you all so much for the continued support for this story. Sorry for the slightly late update, this week was kind of hectic. Anyways, please enjoy and please, please review. :)**

* * *

Chapter 17: Found.

The first thing that registered was the sharp smell of disinfectant and the sound of something beeping.

"Mara," I heard a familiar voice rumble, "Mara baby, please wake up."

I groaned and my eyelids began to flutter open. For a moment I was blinded by fluorescent lights, but eventually my eyes started to make out the shapes of people around me. Dad was holding my one hand, my Mum holding the other. Jenny was sitting in a chair towards the end of the narrow hospital bed.

Mum smiled softly, "Hey there."

I moaned as I began to feel the stiffness in my muscles, "What happened to me?"

"You started to have an episode, and your body sent you into a seizure. I tried to catch you, but you fell down some stairs and hit your head pretty hard, do you remember?" Dad's face was full of worry as he gently smoothed out my hair.

I thought for a moment and then shook my head, "No sorry."

"You're lucky I was there with you," He murmured, seemingly lost in some image he didn't want to recall.

I swallowed, "How long have I been out?"

"A day or so," Jenny croaked, and I could see the purple circles and redness around her eyes.

"Oh," I murmured, and the room fell into a tense silence, "Am I gonna be okay?"

Mum smiled at me and squeezed my hand, "Of course you are Love, this just means they have to tweak your medications a bit. You should be out of this place in no time."

We all looked up when someone knocked on the door. It was Nathan, awkwardly leaning against the frame while holding a small bouquet of Lilacs, my favorites. I gave him a shy smile and beckoned for him to come in, "Have you already met everyone?"

He nodded, "Yeah, we met," His eyes flickered nervously to my Dad and I groaned inwardly. I caught Jenny's subtle grin and shot her a pointed look.

Mum smiled, "I bet Nathan and Mara would like to catch up, why don't we all go for some coffee?"

"No, I think-" My Dad started.

Mum glared, "Doctor. Coffee. Now."

I bit back a smile; Mum only ever called Dad the Doctor when they were on the best of terms.

Jenny hauled herself up and took his arm, "Yeah Dad, I hear they even got fresh Bananas this morning. We should go check them out, make sure their safe for public consumption, after all, you never really know in a hospital do you? They could just be powdered Bananas in disguise."

I couldn't help the brief laughter that escaped my lips as my sister and my Mother dragged him out of the room, "Oh," She turned back, "But don't think we aren't listening young man, if you try anything funny you'll regret it."

Nathan gulped, "Understood Mrs. Tyler."

Mum gave him her best grin, "Good luck."

The two of us blushed as the door swung closed again. Our eyes flickered between each other and the walls of the room as he shifted from foot to foot.

"You remembered my favorite flower," I tried to smile reassuringly.

Nathan shrugged and moved to hand them to me, "I thought they might add a little color to this place."

I grinned and pulled in a deep breath to smell the sweet gift, "Thank you, they're lovely."

He smiled tentatively, "So how are you feeling?"

Now it was my turn to shrug, "Oh I can't complain, I'm a bit sore here and there but other than that I feel rather normal."

He sat next to me on the bed and took my hand, "You really scared all of us. Your Mum called me, apparently once they got you in to the hospital you seized up again. Twice."

I sighed heavily, "Do you know what the doctor's did to me?"

He shook his head, "Only that they patched up your head and changed your medication."

I reached up to gingerly brush my fingers against the gauze wrapped tightly around my forehead, "Oh."

Nathan stood and kissed my forehead, "I have to go to work, but I'll see you soon, yeah?"

I nodded, "Sure, okay."

I watched him leave, and my eyes narrowed when he exchanged a few quiet words with one of the nurses. She looked up at me and I quickly avoided my gaze.

The same nurse entered a few minutes later with a syringe and a sickly sweet smile, "Hello sweetie, my name's nurse Becca, remember? I came in a few times to give you your medication."

I shook my head, "No, sorry I don't."

She smiled wider and went to give me the medication but I stopped her. She gave me a sympathetic look, "I know it's not fun, but I promise that if you take this you'll feel much better."

I shook my head, "No."

She let out a weary sigh and stabbed the syringe into my IV so I wouldn't have a choice, "If you need anything, just call."

I felt my eyelids start to grow heavy as she left the room. I tried to fight the drugs as they moved through my system, fear making my hearts both beat rapidly. I blinked as that registered, and succumbed to sleep.

* * *

I felt myself nearing the point where they were holding my daughter. I'd picked up on an Angel a few months back and had been following it on instinct. I could feel her signal growing stronger the longer I followed the creature. It led me down a twisted path through the vortex until finally we came upon a safeguarded point where I couldn't follow.

I stayed and watched the Angels move in and out of this pocket as long as I could before I had to exit the vortex. I had noticed myself growing stronger during the years I had spent searching for Mara. Of course, time was completely relative in this place. What felt like years to me seemed like a much shorter time to anyone outside of the vortex. As the Doctor would say, Wibbily-wobbily Timey-wimey. I had thought up a plan to enter the fortress they were holding her in though, I would wait until another Angel got close enough and use it to carry me inside. It would be incredibly dangerous, and I would only get one shot but I could see no other option.

I coughed as I landed on hard grating; I'd deposited myself into a random nearby point in time to rest. I hadn't even stopped to check on where I would end up landing.

Stupid of me, really.

"Oi, you! How did you get into my TARDIS?" A northern accented voice barked.

I froze and looked up slowly. Blue eyes widened when they saw my face and I stood slowly with my hands up, "I can explain."

The Doctor squinted at me, "You have… What are you? Last I saw you were just a normal human."

I lowered my hands cautiously, "How long ago was that?"

He thought for a moment, "Oh, I dunno… Three days? I never really keep track anymore, but more importantly, how did you get here? You didn't travel, you couldn't have. You refused."

My lips tugged into a slight smile, "I forgot how black and white you used to view the world."

He stared at me, "You're from the future aren't you?"

I bit my lip, "Yeah."

"And you're… Alien now?"

"Yeah, always have been, that a problem?"

"No," He chuckled nervously, "But I s'pose you can't tell me anythin' can you?"

I gave him a smile and shook my head, "No, sorry. What I can tell you is that I'm tired and need a place to rest up for a while; got a spare room? Never mind I'll just use yours, I know where it is."

The Doctor gaped at me as I spun on my heel and made my way down the hall, "Hold on, just hold on, what? Nobody knows where my room is, I've never shown a companion before."

I grinned at him over my shoulder, "Well I'm not your average companion Doctor, see yah in an hour or so," I waved and entered the quiet room.

* * *

I jerked awake when something jabbed my ribs. I groaned, every part of me was in pain. I could feel the bruises running straight down into my bones.

_Wake up TARDIS Child, you have a visitor_, I flinched as they snarled.

"I know this game," I croaked, "I'm not falling for it."

The room started to swim into focus, and my eyes registered a figure that looked nothing like an Angel. She was bound at the wrists with the same chains I wore, her clothes were torn and burned in places, she had a bruise across her forehead and a cut lip but it was definitely her.

"Mum," I whimpered and tried to crawl over to her side. She didn't respond when I shook her and I glared up at the Angel standing outside my cell door, "What have you done to her?!"

_She used one of us as transport into the Angel Space, her injuries are her own fault_, they hissed.

"What the hell is Angel space?" I demanded.

I shivered when I a tremendous roar of what passed as the Angels laughing assaulted my ears.

_TARDIS Child, _they cackled, _Angel Space is all around you. This is where we were created, this is our domain._

I heard Mum groan beside me and turned to her, "Mum? Mum wake up."

She slowly pulled her eyes open and smiled weakly, "Mara," She whispered hoarsely, "I've been looking for you for a long time."

* * *

I entered the console room with caution. He was tinkering, as usual, too lost in his work to notice as I sat down on the captain's chair. The TARDIS greeted me with a warm hum and I smiled up at the rotor.

"Are you just gonna sit there or are you gonna say hello?" The Doctor demanded.

I rolled my eyes, "You seemed busy."

"I'm always busy," He retorted and caused a wire to spark, "Sleep well?"

I smiled slightly, "Like a baby… Learn anything interesting?" I noticed a picture of me next to a large block of red letters that read ACCESS DENIED.

The Doctor sat up to give me a hard look, "You tell me, Rose Tyler, because I can't make sense of you. The TARDIS won't let me complete my search. She seems to think you're important for some reason, but won't let me know why."

I gave him my tongue in teeth grin, "Well you should listen to her more often yah know, she never steers you wrong."

He snorted, "If only that were true…" His cold eyes scrutinized my face, "Who are you, Rose Tyler?"

I smiled and hopped to my feet, "Right now, I'm no one. But, if you go back to the last moment you saw me? Well," I grinned, "That's when I become someone important to you."

"But you already said no," I hadn't realized how close we'd gotten until I felt his breath pool across my cheeks, "You said no, and I never ask twice."

"Well, maybe you should make an exception," I countered.

He raised an eyebrow, "Why should I? Give me one good reason."

I thought for a moment, and then leaned up to whisper into his ear, "Bad Wolf."

The Doctor looked confused as I backed away, "Will I forget this?"

I gave him a sad look, "You've got to."

He nodded, "But… How do I convince her to come?"

I bit my lip, "Tell her…" My smile widened, "Tell her it also travels in time."

He grinned, "Fantastic."

I laughed and closed my eyes as I opened the vortex. I waited until I felt an Angel come close enough, and then threw myself inside, immediately clinging onto it. I kept my eyes tightly shut as it screeched and tried to shake me off.

I screamed when we broke through the time pocket and electricity jolted across my body. All around me I heard Angels crying out with rage, and my eyes flew open as my body hurtled across a hard floor.

I cough and looked up. All around me Angels stared with claws extended and faces twisted into those demonic expressions that had haunted my dreams.

_You have come far for nothing, Bad Wolf,_ they hissed.

I hauled myself to my feet, "Take me to Mara. Let me see my daughter."

I spun around quickly when I heard something moving, the Angels had made a path for me. Cautiously, I moved through them into a long hallway. I tried not to hear the moaning coming from inside a few of the cells; instead I focused all of my being onto the tiny spark that I had followed all the way here.

That's when I saw her, curled into a ball in a dirty cell.

"Mara!" I cried and ripped the door open. I ran to her side and turned her face upwards. She was a worrisome shade of grey, her eyes shut tightly. I glared up at the Angels, "What have you done to her!?"

They cackled at me, _She is our greatest food source, we will survive forever on her._

"Not if I have anything to do with it," I growled and stood, "I demand that you release her!"

I shivered when a horrible screeching sound attacked my ears, and shut my eyes tightly, _No Bad Wolf, we will not be releasing either of you anytime soon._

I felt something smash into my temple, and cried out as I fell towards the floor. The last thing I registered was feeling my Doctor, so far away. Lonely and afraid and worried about where I was.

I focused every last ounce of strength I had on one last message for him, _I love you, I'm sorry._

I closed my eyes again, and fell into unconsciousness.

When I started to come around the first thing I was aware of was someone shaking me, "Mum? Mum wake up."

I slowly opened my eyes and smiled weakly, "Mara," I whispered hoarsely, "I've been looking for you for a long time."

She let out a disbelieving laugh and smiled through her tears, "Hi."

I looked up to where the Angels were watching us through the cell bars, "Let her go."

_No,_ the growled, and disappeared.

I groaned when I registered the fire in my ribs, "Well that worked well, didn't it?"

Mara laughed again, "So what now?"

I sighed heavily and glanced down at the chains around my wrists, "Well… Now we come up with an escape plan."

She gave me a mischievous look that reminded me way too much of her Father, "I think I might already have one."


	19. Chapter 19: Bad Girl

**Okay, after that last chapter I _had_ to follow it up with this one quickly. I just couldn't resist. ;) Anyways, I still can't thank you all enough for all of your support and please enjoy! :D**

* * *

Chapter 18: Bad Girl.

My eyes flickered to Mara's as we woke to a tin plate of food randomly in our cell. She nodded and I grabbed it, giving her half of the bread the Angels had presented us with. We both ate in silence, listening carefully to the creaking and moaning of the cells around us. Mara shuddered when someone screamed in a cell not too far off from us.

I checked nearby Angles, "Keep a lookout," I whispered.

Mara nodded and went to the door as I closed my eyes and concentrated. The shackles they had us in were strong, and resistant to almost any type of psychic attack. All but one.

I panted as I struggled to project my consciousness through the crystal to the hallway beyond. Everything around me had taken on a colorless appearance, as if it were an old black and white movie. As soon as I felt myself settle on the astral plane I ran for the end of the hallway. Near the top of the wall there was where the Angels kept all of their keys. I slid to a halt in front of the wall and scanned it for the right ones.

"550, gotcha!" I concentrated hard and grabbed onto the keys, running back for our cell as fast as I could.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw one of the Angels come through the door. It was frozen in front of the door, and I cursed. It would know soon enough what was going on, which meant Mara and I had even less time to escape.

I threw the keys through the bars and pulled myself back into my body.

"Hurry!" I hissed, "I saw one, more will be coming soon."

Mara's hands shook as she undid her cuffs first, and then mine. I ran to the door with the keys and fought through my trembling hands to shove it open. The Angel was still at the end of the hall, its face changed into attack mode.

I grabbed my daughter's hand, "Run!"

We sprinted for the other end of the hallway. I could hear the Angel chasing after us, and I quickly opened a tear into the vortex. Mara screamed as I wrapped my body around hers and threw us inside. My body took the brunt of the force from the wards protecting the Angel Space, and as soon as we were through I found us a place to land.

We spun out onto hard dirt, and I hauled Mara to her feet as soon as the tear had closed again, "Come on, they'll be close behind us. We need to keep moving."

She nodded and limped after me as we ran across the field we'd landed in. I heard something that sounded like wings flapping high above us. I glanced back; six Angels had already made it through the vortex to us.

"Faster!" I cried and pushed Mara on.

In front of us another tear opened and three more Angels appeared. We slid to a stop and I grabbed her hand, turning to the right and dragging us away. Two of the Angels from the original party were already blocking our path with those peaceful smiles on their faces.

We stopped and spun around and around. I could feel my daughter's fear as I tried desperately to find us a way out. The Angels stopped in a circle, being careful not to look at each other as they cornered us.

I pulled off my necklace and placed it into Mara's hand, "You have to go," I told her and squeezed her hand, "It'll take you back to Dad; you have to use it now."

She shook her head, "No, I'm not leaving you."

I laughed as the Angels started to get closer, "You don't have much of a choice here Cricket."

I felt the tear that dropped to my hand, "But what about you?"

"To use the crystals they have to touch for you to be able to work them," I grinned at her, "If I could pull us both home I would, but I can't. I'll make it out, don't worry about me. Just go."

She kissed my hand, "I love you."

I pulled my hand away, "Tell Dad I'll be home soon."

I heard it when she disappeared, and grinned at the Angels around me, "Well boys, looks like it's just you an' me." I closed my eyes, and started to pull all of my energy into my center. I heard them when they started closing in and released my power. I felt the heat flash in my eyes as I waved my hand, smiling as they started to disintegrate into gold dust. A small part of my mind saw the flashback of me doing this same thing to the Daleks. I heard the Angels screaming in my head, but only smiled coldly.

The world seemed to go still as the dust faded. I swayed as the energy left my body; I'd used up a lot of power to ward off my attackers. I felt my body sink into the grasses below me, and looked up at the sky blearily. A shadow passed over my face, and I tried to make out the dark shapes above me.

I started to laugh hysterically when I made out the face of Madame Kovarian.

* * *

I squeezed my eyes closed as I hurtled through time and space. My hearts stayed behind with my Mum as my body tumbled through the vortex. I could feel her exhaustion, her pain.

I felt the breath get knocked out of my body as I rolled across hard ground. Tears came to my eyes as I stopped on a wooden floor. The TARDIS sat in front of me, sending out a soft hum of recognition.

The doors creaked open and Dad stared at me with disbelief, "Mara?" He whispered.

I coughed and held out Mum's crystal, "Help," I croaked.

The last thing I saw before fading away was him sliding onto his knees beside me.

* * *

I was jolted awake as electricity shot through my body. I moaned as it faded away and blinked against the harsh lights in my eyes. I was in a colorless room, strapped onto an equally white and cold table with only thin sheets and a hard pillow.

I gasped for air as the panic started to hit me, flashbacks of other white walls paralyzing me with terror. A door flew open somewhere to my right and two nurses hurried in, stabbing an IV solution with a syringe.

I slumped back against my restraints as the sedative started to slow my heart.

"Where am I?" I croaked.

Madame Kovarian's heels clicked against the pale floor as she entered with a smug grin, "The end of the world, Mrs. Tyler, at least the one you knew."

I groaned and my eyes fluttered closed again, "What are you talking about?"

She only smirked at me, "You my dear, we're talking about you."

"No," I struggled against my bonds weakly as a machine was brought in. It was a large hunk of monitors and wires and cables, "No you don't understand, you don't know what you're doing."

"Oh," She hissed, "I think you'll find that we do, _sweetie_. Now just relax while Dr. Aliah will take good care of you."

"No!" I protested as he came at me with the wires, "No!" I felt the heat flash through me again as they all were shoved away in one great burst of force. Alarms went off as I used my new found strength to tear off first one restraint and then the other. As soon as I was free I ran to Madame Kovarian and grabbed her gun.

She moaned and looked up at me, "You'll never escape."

"Oh no?" I growled, "Want to bet on that?" I stood and stopped at the door to listen. Already hundreds of boots were running in our direction, the soldiers shouting out positions to each other.

"Does the Doctor know how dangerous you really are?" Kovarian gasped, "Does he know the things you've done?"

I clenched my teeth and got a tighter grip on the gun.

She let out a breathy laugh, "Oh, he doesn't does he? He remembers the war, but you never told him what you used to do for Torchwood did you? All of the innocent lives you butchered before _and_ during that war."

"That never happened," I growled.

"But you remember it," She countered, "So you still did it."

"Shut up!" I shouted and grabbed her, holding the gun to her neck, "Guess what Kovarian? You just volunteered for hostage duty! Isn't that nice, c'mon."

I could vaguely feel Mara on the corners of my mind, trying to find me. I shut her out firmly and opened the door. Outside, the alarms screeched even louder and the soldiers sent to contain me cocked their weapons.

I laughed, "Really boys I'm disappointed, do you _ever_ do your homework?" I kept Kovarian close, slinking against the wall towards a control room I could see down the hall.

"Don't shoot!" Kovarian commanded, "That's an order!"

I grinned when they backed down, "Good boys, now you just stay there while I send a message." I yanked us into the room and locked the door behind me. I shoved Kovarian into an office chair and pulled a heavy table in front of the door. I quickly turned to the computers behind me and tried to find our coordinates, "You. Stay."

Kovarian sank back down into her chair when I waved my weapon in her direction, "You can't leave here. We pumped you with enough drugs to keep you grounded for _days_."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh Madame Kovarian give me some credit I'm cleverer than _that_."

She blinked her one eye, "Then what are you doing?"

I gave her my wildest smile, "I'm sending a message. Just you wait until my husband finds out you kidnapped me… _Again_."

She snorted, "We don't fear the Doctor."

"No, but you do," I opened my link to Mara, using my TARDIS key to try to strengthen our connection, "And right now I suggest you be very, very afraid; because he's a coming _sweetie_, and he's not gonna be very happy with you." Quickly I sent the image of the coordinates through to my daughter. I only hoped she would receive them despite the distance between us.

I shut the link again and turned to the computers. Outside someone was banging against the door, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before they got in.

I opened a file on the desktop and hundreds of documents started to appear on the screen. Equations and technical words I had no hope of understanding, but I got the basic idea.

I swiveled around to glare at Madame Kovarian, "That's what you want me for? That's slaughter!"

She gave me a twisted smile, "We prefer to think of it as a kind of second coming."

I punched her across the jaw, "I will not help you murder the billions innocent lives you plan to destroy!"

She only chuckled, "And yet, you're perfectly comfortable with murdering as many of my men that are necessary to get back to your little family."

I swallowed and flinched when the door rattled again, "That's different."

"I don't see how. You'll still be bending the rules to an angle that you like," She growled, "You're just as bad as the Doctor, little Wolf. Both of you so self-righteous that you never stop to question the morality of your actions, how many lives have died because of the pair of you?"

"How many lives have been saved?" I countered weakly and leaned in closer to her, "Now, I don't pretend to be a good person Kovarian. I've done terrible things for all the wrong reasons, I've killed, I've lied… But you know why I do it? Because there are people like the Doctor, good people who've saved so many more than they've ever wronged. Don't ever confuse monsters like me with good men like him," I growled.

She glared, "Then tell me, little Wolf. If he's so wonderful and you're so terrible, then why are you together? Why keep him from the truth of what you are?"

I let out a tiny smile as the door opened and guards started to flood the room, "Because I'm a selfish woman, Kovarian, I thought you'd learned that by now."

Madame Kovarian watched me go with an entranced gaze, and I didn't struggle against the guards who grabbed me. They hauled me back down to that white room, strapping down onto the bed with stronger restraints and hooking me up to that awful machine.

A balding man with watery blue eyes and a sagging face sat down beside the machine with a notepad, "Now, to begin. Let's start with a simple question, what is your name?"

I rolled my eyes, "Rose Tyler."

He touched a dial, and I screamed when the pain ripped through my body, sending electric pulses all the way into my core. I quickly thickened the barriers of my mind in an attempt to keep my daughter from feeling this through our connection.

I panted when the pain ended, "Wrong," Dr. Aliah said flatly, "Your name is Bad Wolf, and you are a servant of the Silence. I ask you again, what is your name?"

I gritted my teeth and braced myself, "Rose Tyler."

I screamed when he hit me again.

* * *

Mara groaned from where the Doctor had laid her down onto the exam table in the Med bay. She looked up at him blearily, and a wide smile found his face.

"Hello there," He whispered.

She blinked back tears and reached out for him, "I never thought I'd see you again."

He chuckled and pulled her in for a gentle hug, "Your Mother would tell you, I'm not so easy to get rid of."

Mara pulled back, "She's in trouble Dad, she sent me some coordinates in my dream. They're holding her in some kind of facility, but I couldn't figure out why. She's shut me out for some reason."

The Doctor brushed her cheek and swallowed, "Do you remember the coordinates?"

She nodded and tapped her temple, "Right here..." Her eyes widened and she felt for her necklace, "What did you do with the other one?"

"Sent it back in time as a Birthday gift, it would cause a paradox otherwise. Now, are you okay to move? We have to collect your sister, we'll need her help to save Mum."

Mara nodded and lowered herself to the floor carefully, "Yeah, yeah I'm good let's go."

The Doctor felt it while they were running for Jenny's, her cry of pure agony that seemed to rip a hole right through the fabric of space and time. He watched as all around him Humans seemed to stop what they were doing and look around in a daze. For a moment, all sounds seemed fell into silence and the world he felt turning in his head froze.

He looked over at Mara, her mouth was open in a silent scream and her face was twisted up with the same pain he felt piercing his hearts. He clenched his fists and felt the anger boil deep inside of him. Somewhere, far out beyond his reach, his precious Rose was experiencing the worst type of pain imaginable.

And he was powerless to stop it.

The world seemed to restart after the first scream ended, and he grabbed his daughter's hand, "Do you still remember those coordinates?"

Mara nodded, "We need to hurry."

The Doctor's grip tightened on her hand and they sprinted for Jenny's house, anger now making both of them push their legs even faster. He called out for Jenny through their link, and saw her door open as they rounded the corner onto her street.

She slammed the door closed and rushed out to meet them, "TARDIS, let's go."

"Mara!?" A voice cried from somewhere down the street.

Mara turned to look at the source, and froze when she saw the young boy jogging towards them.

"Sorry Nathan, family emergency, I can't talk now," She grabbed onto the Doctor's arm and pulled them away, "Let's get out of here."

"Wait, Mara, how do you remember? Jenny said you have a brain injury!"

She huffed and turned to face the boy again, "Well I got better, goodbye Nathan."

"But-"

The Doctor stepped between Mara and the boy, "I believe my daughter said this was a _family emergency_, goodbye." He grabbed both of his girls' hands and they took off down the street again, breaking contact to run faster.

They all got pierced into place when another scream rippled across the universe. The Doctor felt tears come to his eyes as he tried to cover his ears, both of his hearts pounding in his chest.

_We're coming Rose,_ He tried desperately to use their partial bond to send her a message, _Just hold on._

In answer, the screams grew louder.


	20. Chapter 20: Broken

**WARNING: there are very brief scenes of torture ahead. I tried to go as light as possible on the description and don't think it's very bad at all, but I still want to put out a warning if you really have a big problem with that kind of stuff.**

* * *

Chapter 19: Broken.

It had been 182.5 days since I'd sent those coordinates off to Mara. I knew this place was shielded, hidden away in a tiny pocket similar to the one the Angels liked to cower in. Time ran differently here, I could feel it. To the outside world it couldn't have been more than a few minutes, an hour at most, but here?

Here it had been nearly half a year of hell.

Still, they hadn't broken me yet. I grinned up at the guards as they entered my cramped cell, "Hey boys, how are this morning? Greg, how's the wife?"

Greg gave me a hint of a smile, "Don't know Miss, haven't spoken to her since I joined up here."

"Well you wouldn't, would you? Wouldn't want such a delicate little thing to know you lot plan on using me to murder her and anyone else who doesn't conform to your strict rules, would you?"

Greg roughly yanked me to my feet as the other guard pulled his weapon off of safety, "Let's go."

I giggled, "Tsk, tsk sergeant Maitland. Didn't Mummy teach you violence was never the answer?" They pushed me roughly down the hall towards the white room. I felt bile rising to my throat the closer we got, and looked up at Greg, "No c'mon boys, I was only playing around, couldn't we just tell Dr. Aliah I'm calling in sick today? I really would love to keep our date, but the truth is I'm cheating on him with the orderly who brings me meals and I jus' don't want all of that coming out, you know what I mean? Please? No? Well then…" I reached up and punched the Sergeant square in the jaw.

Greg kicked my legs out from under me and uncoiled the whip from his belt. I rolled back up to my feet and took off running down the hall. Alarms were blaring and people were already in place to block my path to the escape route I'd been after.

I skidded to a stop and sucked in a deep breath, "_Fine_," I growled and held up my hands, "I'm going, I'm going. Dr. Aliah really needs to learn how to handle being stood up, doesn't he?" I clenched my teeth as I entered the white room and let the soldiers shove me harshly onto the exam table. The metal was ice cold and made me shiver as they tightly wrapped my restraints around me.

I winced when Maitland pulled the strap too tight, "You like hurting me, don't you tough guy?" I winked and laughed as he rolled his eyes and left the room.

Dr. Aliah pulled out his notepad, "Now, shall we begin?"

I wiggled until I found a relatively comfortable position, "My name's Rose Tyler, Dr. Aliah, and if you want any more outa me you're gonna have to buy me a drink."

I screamed when the pain started.

* * *

"No, no, no!" Dad roared and smashed part of the console.

"Dad," Jenny grabbed his wrist, jumping back when he started flailing around, "Doctor! Just calm down! We're not gonna find her if you act up like this!"

He growled and tapped a few buttons furiously, "Mara, your pretty boy is here."

I glanced at the scanner, and groaned, "I'll deal with it, you just… Keep looking, don't take off without me." I ran for the TARDIS doors and sucked in a deep breath.

Coming into the TARDIS had felt like coming home for the first time. The ship had greeted me with enthusiasm, chirping and flashing her lights until the Doctor told her what was going on. She'd responded with an angry zap of her controls and immediately opened up the right star charts. The coordinates Mum had sent us were slightly distorted in my memory, so we had to account for hundred or so light-years error. Which, when you thought about it, really slowed our progress.

I stepped out to face Nathan, and shut the door firmly behind me, fingering my new key around my neck nervously. Dad had given it to me as soon as I'd stepped foot in the old ship.

I went to the front door of the house, "What do you want?"

He looked taken aback by my hostility, "What's going on Mara? How long have you been recovered? Who was that man you and Jenny were with?"

I sighed heavily, "I was never injured Nathan, he's my Dad, and as for what's going on… It's a family emergency, that's all you need to know."

He snorted, "Right… Mara I haven't seen you since that night at the mansion but I remember how afraid you looked of those statue things. So tell me the truth, what's going on?"

"You need to go," My hearts clenched over my words, but I kept my face carefully neutral.

Nathan shook his head, "Nope, not gonna happen. Not until you tell me what's wrong. Are you being threatened? What's making you act this way?"

I shook my head, "No, it's not like that."

"Then what's it like Mara? Because I'm concerned for you! I love you baby, I want to help you, but I can't do that if you don't tell me what's wrong," He tried to reach for my hand.

I shrank back, "You need to go."

He glared at the space over my shoulder, "No."

"Nathan!" I screeched when he shoved passed me into the house, "Get out!"

He stopped short when he saw the TARDIS, "What the hell?"

It was at that moment that both Jenny and Dad stepped out. Dad wore a murderous expression as he held out his hand for me. I ran to his side and he threw an arm around my shoulder, "Is there a problem here?"

Nathan opened his mouth, "Y-yeah. Mara's my girlfriend, and I'm concerned that you're threatening her. I'm not afraid to go to the police if you don't tell me what's going on."

Dad raised an eyebrow, "Sounds to me like _you're_ the one doing the threatening here, Mr.…?"

"Nathan," He stuttered.

"Nathan, Mara has told you all that she can. It's a private matter for the family only, I'm sure you understand," I shivered at the ice in his voice and he pulled me closer.

Nathan straightened up, "But who are you to just sweep in, after all this time, and decide that for her?"

I felt it when Dad's anger hit the roof and I tried to hold him back, "Nathan, Nathan listen to me. Don't say another word, just leave."

He glared at me, "No! I wanna know, who is he to make these decisions for you?"

Jenny pulled me away as Dad ran forward to grab onto Nathan's jacket, "I want you to understand something _right now._ In this moment, you see, I am _very calm. _Do you understand that? Very, very calm, and the only reason I'm so calm is the fact that I don't want my daughters to watch me snap you in two. So listen carefully when I tell you this, _I'm_ her _Father_, and if you value your puny existence _boy_ I calmly suggest you walk away from this house and never bother us again."

Nathan stumbled as he got shoved back and quickly turned and left.

Dad pulled in a sharp breath, and turned back to face us, "You alright?"

I nodded, "Let's find Mum."

* * *

Year 3, Day 250 and Dr. Aliah still hadn't taken me out for that drink.

"What is your name?" He asked with that same clinical monotone.

"Rose Tyler," I hissed, "Honestly, you should get your memory-" I broke off when he started up the machine again, "Checked out," I panted as it stopped.

"What is your name?"

I rolled my eyes, "Could you _please_ ask me another question? Just for the sake of variety, I'm getting bored over here."

He was silent for a moment, scribbling something down on that notepad of his. He looked up at me and pushed his glasses up his nose, "Who do you serve?"

I laughed, "That's better! Knew you had it in yah to be spontaneous Aliah!"

He huffed, "Who do you serve?"

"Oh nobody really, I went undercover for Torchwood as a Barista once. Does that count?" I winced when the machine started up again, "Losing your touch Aliah? That one barely hurt."

"Subject is gaining tolerance to pain levels," He muttered and scribbled furiously.

A nurse barged in with a syringe in hand. I smiled at her, "Aw yes, you must be Hilda with my daily shot? But I feel so rude hogging it all, why don't you give it to the good ol' doctor here? I'm sure he'd just _love_ some of this stuff."

She didn't respond, neatly stabbing the needle into an IV in my arm and leaving.

I closed my eyes as the drugs started to make me feel heavy again, "Right, where were we?"

"What is your name?" Dr. Aliah asked.

Abruptly all of the defiance and anger I'd been keeping pent up seemed to evaporate, leaving me exhausted, "Rose Tyler," I muttered.

He let out a soft sigh and turned the machine on again. I yelped when one short blast went through me, and stayed still once it had stopped. My eyelids felt so heavy, and my body was sore all over. All I wanted at this point was to curl into a ball and hide away from this room and this man.

"Doctor," I whimpered, "Where are you?"

Dr. Aliah stood and went over to a small tray I'd never seen before, "The man you call the Doctor is not what he says he is. This man has no doubt told you he loves you, but that is a lie Bad Wolf. Nobody could ever love a monster like you, he only wanted you for his own greedy purposes."

I shook my head defiantly, "You're wrong."

"Am I?" He slowly pulled up a knife, and ran his finger along one of the glinting edges, "Let's try something new." I watched with wide eyes as he pulled out a small box, "Have you ever heard of the Pareo worm? Fascinating creature, I believe it's name literally translates into 'obey.' It'll just a_dore _you," He pulled out one of the screeching creatures and held it back at arms length.

I struggled against my restraints as he stalked towards me, "No. Don't come any closer, no!" I thrashed and he grabbed my arm tight enough to cause bruises.

"What is your name?"

"Rose Tyler!" I spat at him.

He sighed, "I really didn't want to do this but…" I cried out when he sliced the knife across me and hovered the wriggling worm over my body teasingly. I heard blood dripping and my vision started to get rather blurry around the edges, the only thing I could think of was that there would finally be a splash of color in this room.

I tried to glare at Dr. Aliah through my haze, "My husband's gonna kill you."

He narrowed his eyes at me and slashed the weapon across my cheek, "No Bad Wolf, I don't think he will, because he doesn't love you the way you think he does. Nobody loves_ you_."

I growled, "So we're playing mind games now, are we?"

A slow, sadistic smile spread across his face, "Get comfortable my dear, we're only just getting started."

My eyes widened when he started to lower the worm towards me, "Get away from me! _Doctor_!" I thrashed against my restraints as the creature got ever closer to me, "Help me…"

* * *

I was starting to fear that we would never be able to find her again. The hollow space in my hearts where she should have been was slowly consuming me as the days went by. Every time one of us thought we'd finally found her we would come up with a dead end. It was getting to the point where even Dad was starting to doubt if we would ever see her again.

"Try rebooting the TARDIS calibrators up 300% again," Dad called from under the console.

"I already _did_ and she nearly blew up!" Jenny shouted angrily and smashed her fist against the time rotor, "Why doesn't this thing ever work properly?"

"Jenny Lynn you apologize!" Dad sat up to glare at my sister.

She growled under her breath, "I would, if I could count on it finding her!"

I stared into space from my place on the captain's chair, trying to dull their screaming match to a dull roar. Their fighting had been steadily growing worse as the days went on. It was to the point where I slept on a mattress in the actual house.

"Mara?" I flinched when they both turned to hear an answer to a question I hadn't heard.

I opened my mouth, "I-"

"You see? You're upsetting her!" Dad shouted, "Leave your sister alone."

"No! I want to hear her opinion, what do you think Mara?"

I nervously glanced between them, "I- I… I think I'm going to stay at the flat tonight, excuse me," I stood and ran for the doors as fast as I could.

"You see? You drove her off!" Dad continued to yell at Jenny as I fled from the house. The very air surrounding the ship seemed to be pressing down on my lungs to the point where breathing became a chore. The TARDIS sent me an apologetic hum as I locked the front door and pulled my jacket tightly around me.

I turned away from the house, and instead of going towards Jenny's flat I went right for the park. I walked around aimlessly until I found a secluded bench. I sat down with a huff and placed my head in my hands, letting a few of my tears come out.

I felt it when someone sat down beside me, "What's wrong Cricket?"

My head snapped up at the unfamiliar voice and my eyes found a strange man with floppy brown hair and kind green eyes sitting next to me.

I sobbed and flew into my Dad's arms, "You shouldn't be here," I chastised between hiccups, "What if he sees you?"

"Trust me, he won't," He whispered, "I remember this night."

I looked up, "Why are you here?"

He gave me a small smile, "Because you need me," He took my hand and started drawing a pattern.

"But you can't tell me anything," My voice broke.

"No, I can't," He started to redraw the pattern on my palm and I gave him a curious look, "But that doesn't mean I can't help you." He finished his pattern with a flourish and smiled at me warmly.

A wide grin began to spread across my face, "I guess that's true," I stood and paused to kiss his cheek, "Thank you."

He grinned, "Anytime."

I started to jog back for the TARDIS, "Give my love to Mum!" I called over my shoulder.

I heard him laugh as I broke into a sprint. Hope bubbled up into my chest as I shakily unlocked the front door and burst through to the front room, "I know where she is, I know where she is!" I laughed and nearly broke the TARDIS doors down trying to get inside.

Dad looked up from his place on the grating, wiping away a tear, "What?"

I ran to the console and started punching in the right numbers, "I found Mum!"

Both he and Jenny leapt to their feet as the rotor started groaning to life. Dad laughed hysterically when he checked my readings, "There she is!" He ran to kiss my cheek, "Oh Cricket you are _brilliant_!"

Jenny grinned widely as the three of us danced around trying to keep the TARDIS in flight, "We're coming Mum!"

* * *

Year 5, Day 182.5.

The door to my cell clinked open and Madame Kovarian entered with her usual smirk, "Hello Bad Wolf."

I looked up and smiled slightly, "Madame Kovarian, to what do I owe the displeasure?"

She handed me a large manila envelope, "I have your first assignment."

I snatched the envelope away, "What is it?"

"We have someone we want you to kill," She sneered, "Someone you know quite well."

I looked down at the photo of a man with dark eyes, wild hair and sideburns. I felt a slight twinge of familiarity but quickly shut it down, keeping myself carefully numb. I reminded myself that this man had lied to me, he never loved me. He'd known what I was; he only wanted me for his own purposes and that it was the Silence who had rescued me from him. I shoved the file back into the envelope and looked up at my boss.

I gave her a hard smile, "Not a problem."

She nodded, spun on her heel, and left my cell without another word. Two guards came in to prep me for the assignment. One stabbed a needle into my arm to insert a homing device into my body. This way I would be able to alert HQ when the mission was complete. The other guard handed me a gun, and I took it with a smile that curled around my bones. This task would be far too easy.

I stared down at the Doctor's picture, "Don't worry sweetie," I murmured, "I'll be home soon."

* * *

**For those of you who don't like Math 182.5 is roughly a half-year, so Rose has been locked up for 5 and ½ years total… Please don't hate me...**


End file.
